Mutual Burns
by Ssjshadic
Summary: Fire can do many things; warm what's cold, soothe what's wounded, invigorate what's dying. But fire can also burn. In using it, never forget that it spreads indiscriminate and without care of whether it consumes those we love, our enemies, or ourselves.
1. Prelude to THE END (I)

A/N: This began as one thing and evolved into another. At this point it essentially amounts to a story that's very tricky to put into genre and so falls into the tentative adventure category. It's more or less my version of the endgame/finale for Fairy Tail.

Given that, **SPOILER WARNING** , (as in, within the first few lines) for anyone who hasn't read up to chapter 477 of the manga. I myself have sworn off reading any further than that since at the rate the manga is going this story will probably end up being vaguely AU or AT (alternate timeline(?)) sooner rather than later. Which I guess means I better keep up with writing it.

And now I'll step out of the way and let the set up for the main story speak for itself. Enjoy.

* * *

 **Prelude to The END (I)**

Zeref watched from a distance as his right hand, Invel, fell at the hands of the raven-haired boy- one of his brother's friends; he was terrible with new names after more than four centuries. That he was Fullbuster's son was the extent of his recollection. Not that it mattered. There were far more relevant issues with which to occupy his mind.

With Invel down, his Spriggan 12 were defeated. The immortal wizard tilted his head back, shutting out the shouts of his fanatical soldiers and regarded the sky. It was clear and indigo, a cloudless day, in sharp contrast with the battles being fought. Zeref felt a faint ache in his chest, something of an appreciation for the world's beauty.

He quashed the sentiment- the dark mage had made his final decision to go through with his intention to wipe out mankind. He didn't harbor any hesitation on the matter. Still, he found himself reflecting on the book whose weight rested in his left hand.

Wasn't it true that, though his guards had been bested, he did not yet have to take a more proactive role? Such personal intervention was unbecoming of an emperor after all, and he still had a pawn he could make use of.

Catching sight of his brother's rose-pink hair about the heads of his army, Zeref let the phantom of a small smile flash across his face. Yes, he decided. He would abstain from taking direct action quite yet. He turned his attention to the book of E.N.D.

* * *

Gray sighed, letting his devil slayer markings recede on his right arm. The ice mage swept his gaze over the form of Invel, making certain his opponent wouldn't surprise him with another attack, before focusing on the battle his teammates were fighting a ways away. Erza, Natsu, Lucy, Loke, Wendy and Charla were all working through at least a couple thousand of Zeref's army.

Gray winced as he rolled his shoulders- he'd sustained numerous injuries, but one in particular was going to form another scar on his right shoulder blade. Pushing the pain to the back of his mind, he began running toward his friends.

 **Ice Make: Floor!**

Gray used his magic to weave a path of ice that led down from his vantage point above the action, skating his way down. The bare chested mage might have just continued on his way to join his companions, but what caught his attention out of the corner of his eye gave him pause.

Zeref. The black magic wizard was just standing still, and he was holding the book of E.N.D. out and open in front of him.

Gray had moments before he lost sight of Zeref amid the heads of his army, but he couldn't ignore the opportunity. Calling on his devil slayer magic again, he forged a large bow and arrow out of anti-demon ice. He angled the arrow while he kept moving on the icy path he'd created, training it on the dark mage. Even if he failed to hit Zeref, he'd take out the demon his father had been bent on killing before it could be resurrected. He pulled the arrow back, about to release his shot-

"Took ya long enough!"

Gray's nerves and Natsu's sudden remark threw his accuracy. His shot instead took root in the ground near a few dozen soldiers and erupted with spires of ice, taking them out in the process. The chance lost, Gray cursed and set himself to cutting down enemies with his normal Ice Make magic rather than shooting his rival a retort.

The ice wizard made a mental note to give charcoal breath crap later on about his failed attempt to take Zeref down on his own. The fire-eater had boasted about having a secret plan before charging off solo by way of Happy. He'd ended up returning to the guild with a new scar on his face and only waking the previous day at the guildhall. Happy had offered that Natsu couldn't get rid of Zeref or E.N.D., but both of them refused to say anything else.

* * *

Natsu was growing impatient. He let out a stream of fire from his mouth as he flipped upside down in midair. He'd been conserving his strength as per Erza's strategy for taking on Zeref for a while, and though the effort required to deal with Zeref's army wasn't an issue, the tedium was wearing on him. He hoped that snow queen's arrival would prompt a call to cut loose from Erza, but nothing-

Something intangible overwhelmed the dragon slayer while he was still in midair. A sensation so intense crashed down on him that it sent him into a momentary shock. He couldn't right himself before he crashed on his shoulder to the ground. He made a sweep of his surroundings. Did someone hit him?

"Natsu-san!"

Wendy sent a crowd of their enemies flying with a roar. Natsu, still dazed, rolled onto his stomach and tried picking himself up. He knew he hadn't been hit, but something had hurt him. A lot. And in the next instant, the shock faded and the fire mage's heightened sense keyed in on one thing-

Pain.

His insides felt like each individual organ had decided to relocate in his body at the same time and tear through flesh to do it.

"Natsu-san?"

His hands flew to his ears. Wendy's delicate voice sounded a harpy shrieking straight into his face. He rolled on the ground, all his senses sharpened to the point of agony. He could, and did, taste the blood, sweat and dust all around him, along with a dozen other things. The dragon slayer felt a pressure build inside him that demanded release. Natsu's conscious mind shut down and he writhed on the ground, screaming to relieve the pressure. Flames indiscriminate and wild erupted out from his body.

* * *

Erza felt the heat before she saw the flames. She requipped into her Flame Empress Armor without conscious thought. Ignoring the cries of those around her, she turned toward the source of the flames, intent on giving him a proper scolding for stepping out of line with her plan.

"Na" she began calling out, losing the edge in her voice once she saw the fire mage roiling on the ground, "-tsu?"

Said pinkette was screaming, oblivious to his surroundings. Her ire forgotten, Titania parted the dissipating fire with her blade and cut down the few braver souls who tried attacking Natsu while he was prone. Erza shouted at him to get a grip, but his eyes wouldn't focus on her and he breathed only to scream again.

She had a feeling her typical cure for his motion sickness wouldn't help anything.

Happy soon joined her, the Exceed urging his partner to calm down with soft words. Though the scarlet-haired wizard couldn't find any physical injuries, she called to Fairy Tail's healer.

"Wendy!"

The younger dragon slayer appeared from overhead courtesy of Charla in her Exceed form. Wendy ran to Natsu's writhing form, her eyes darting to Erza. The S-class mage took hold of one of Natsu's shoulders even as she asked Wendy if she could heal him.

"I'll try."

Erza watched from behind Natsu, her arms snaked under his and hands locked behind his head to keep him still while Happy continued giving comforting words from a perch in his pink hair. Wendy held her hands over the fire mage's abdomen. A faint light exuded from Wendy's fingers, the glow spreading across Natsu's chest. It faded moments later.

"Wendy?" Happy prodded. The bluenette looked up at Erza with wide eyes.

"I can't tell what's wrong. Nothing's happening when I apply my magic!"

Happy whined from atop Natsu's head. Erza felt the dragon slayer's body temperature spike.

"Get back!" she shouted. Charla whisked Wendy away and Happy followed after her just as Natsu produced another violent outburst of flames. Erza released her grip, grimacing as her friend fell back to the ground. She heard Lucy's voice calling her and another rush of soldiers approaching as she clutched her head in frustration.

"Be quiet!" Erza shouted through gritted teeth. With the speed of thought, she changed into her Black Wing Armor and knocked out dozens of the horde with one stroke. She stared hard at the ground and huffed, mumbling, "I'm trying to think."

* * *

Happy was worried. He'd been more watchful and alert with regard to Natsu since their last encounter with Zeref had left him on edge. He hadn't told anyone about all that happened, per Natsu's request, but what they'd learned ate away at him regardless.

"Natsu," he murmured, shivering as his adoptive father let out another cry. As he pondered what to do, something dark in the relative light of the day caught his attention. Happy gasped when he saw Zeref behind another few hundred of his soldiers.

The book of E.N.D. was open in his hands. There were eerie runes floating in the air around the immortal dark mage. The ancient writing flowed out from the pages of the book.

Happy put the pieces together in his head, and he dove from his position in the sky toward Zeref. As little as he understood about what was going on, he knew that the book was somehow connected to Natsu's screaming.

"STOP IT!" Happy cried, not noticing the nondescript magic blast careening toward him.

* * *

Lucy, in her Leo Star Dress, shouted to Erza again, Loke never far behind her. The celestial spirit mage had broken from her immediate fight along with her partner as soon as she first heard Natsu screaming. She saw Gray alternating between knocking down pursuers and running to meet with the others. She didn't notice a certain blue Exceed until she heard Happy yelling.

"STOP IT!"

Lucy twisted her neck up to catch sight of a stray magic blast on a course to intercept Happy. The flying cat seemed oblivious to the fact. Pulling out her Fleuve d'étoiles, she extended her magic whip and snapped it across the magic projectile. The impact missed Happy, but the shock nonetheless threw him off his course and knocked him out of the air. Lucy ran up to catch him and, despite the battle they were in the midst of, nuzzled his head with her hand.

"Are you all right, Happy?"

The blue Exceed looked up at her with watery eyes. Lucy found herself startled at how desperate Happy's expression seemed, something in it begging _help me_.

"Lushi," he said, hiding his face from her, "I gotta tell you something."

Lucy had to tilt her head with her ear toward Happy and lean in to hear him. The young Exceed muttered into her chest. The celestial mage pulled Happy's face up to look at her.

"Is that true, Happy?"

He nodded.

"Aye..."

"What is it, my lady?"

Lucy felt Loke's hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see everyone sans Natsu gathered around her. Her eyes fell on the still flailing dragon slayer.

"Happy says," she swallowed, and took a shallow breath. "That Natsu is one of Zeref's demons."

The air around her seemed to grow thinner.

"Natsu is E.N.D."


	2. Prelude to THE END (II)

A/N: Should've said this in the first chapter, but I as ecstatic as I'd be to be a mangaka, I do not own Fairy Tail or the characters within. Hiro Mashima holds that honor.

* * *

 **Prelude to The END (II)**

"Natsu is E.N.D."

Gray's breath caught. He lost track of Lucy's voice. Natsu was a demon- more than that, _the_ demon that Gray had been focused on for the past year. And Natsu knew.

"Gray?"

He didn't know who said his name. He took long strides toward the walking boiler, who was still on the ground. The ice mage's hands curled into fists. Gray used his magic to guard against stray fire.

"You," Gray growled, swiping his arm down to grip Natsu by his scarf. "Flaming" Gray hoisted him up off his feet. "MORON!"

Gray was shouting at the pink-haired dragon slayer. The topless wizard heard his companions yelling at him, but he wasn't paying attention.

"Of all the idiotic decisions you could have made, you chose to keep _this_ a secret," Gray yanked Nastu toward him until their foreheads were almost touching. "You didn't think that being Zeref's most powerful demon was important enough to _tell us_?"

The white, scaled scarf that Natsu treasured came loose from his neck as a result of his flailing. The fire mage fell back to the ground, suppressing his screams and still expelling bursts of fire. Gray glared at him until he felt a small hand touch the wound on his shoulder.

"Gray-san, he can't hear you."

Wendy took a step back when Gray turned to look at her. The ice mage had to make a conscious effort to drop the scowl on his face.

"And you're bleeding."

Gray tossed Natsu's scarf at him, pushing past Wendy toward his guild mates.

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

In truth, Gray was exhausted, no surprise after facing one of the Spriggan 12. He ignored the heavy weight in his legs, markings of devil slayer magic reappearing on his arm.

"Basically, if we get that book away from Zeref, we get back coal-for-brains, right?" Gray asked, not looking at anyone in particular.

"Aye!" Happy chimed.

"Very well. We'll forgo the initial plan. Right now, we save Natsu," Erza said, requipping again into her Heaven's Wheel Armor. "Don't waste time or effort on Zeref's army. Just clear a path to Zeref and get the book."

Fairy Tail's rallying cry sounded off as Gray charged ahead of the others.

"AYE SIR!"

Gray wove his way past numerous lesser wizards, freezing those that came too near him. He'd received a boost in magic power by eating some of Invel's ice magic, but he had no intention of conserving his energy. A formation line of Zeref's followers blocked his way. They stood shoulder to shoulder, equipped with staffs to create a continuous magic barrier. Gray called on his devil slayer magic, filling his cheeks with air.

 **Ice Devil's Rage!**

He blasted the barrier and his enemies, scattering them and hundreds of others with the force of a blizzard from his mouth. The ice make wizard only had eyes for one immortal dark mage.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

* * *

Erza kept pace behind Gray, concentrating on the remainder of soldiers between her team and Zeref. Once Gray paused to attack, Erza overtook him.

 **Blumenblatt!**

A moment and a few swords later, another third of Zeref's army had fallen. A glance behind her confirmed that Lucy and Loke were picking off those who hadn't been caught in her and Gray's consecutive attacks. Above, Wendy flew with Charla toward the lingering masses.

 **Sky Dragon's Roar!**

A blast of dragon slayer magic left Zeref as the last enemy standing. Erza used her armor to fly ahead of the others, a sword ready in each hand. Once she was within a few dozen feet, though, her target flickered in her vision, replaced with-

"Jellal?"

The redheaded wizard faltered, almost tripping over nothing. Confused, Erza paused, uncertainty filling her. She didn't know whether to trust the sense of dark magic she felt or what she saw clear in front of her. Both strains of logic seemed vague and unreliable to her.

 **Sky Dragon's-**

Wendy came up by her, pausing the same way she had. Titania watched the young dragon slayer's reaction, hoping her instincts might catch something she wasn't seeing.

"Chelia?" Wendy whispered. The blue haired mage took a step forward, kept from rushing ahead only by Erza taking grip of her shoulder.

"No!"

Erza's head snapped up toward the sharp denial before she could question Wendy. Gray wasn't far from them, shuddering as though he'd seen something terrifying.

"Illusionary magic, it seems."

Erza glanced up, seeing Loke with his glasses off standing opposite Wendy. The celestial spirit had a more serious expression than usual.

"Best not to get any closer than this, then. Just being near Zeref like he is now has been known to disorient the flow of a wizard's magic."

Erza frowned.

"But"

"Actually," he said, holding up one hand and tucking his glasses into an inside pocket of his jacket with the other. "If you don't mind, permit me." Erza caught a glimpse of something dangerous and raw in Loke's eyes as he smiled at her. "Dark mage, after all, and being the leader of the Zodiac, light is my specialty."

With that, Loke set off toward Zeref, his magic power swelling. A shining aura surrounded his form and concentrated around his right hand. The glowing light flared when Loke closed it into a fist as he came up to his target.

 **Regulus Impact!**

Rather than the projection of a lion's face, Loke's fist and arm seemed to transform into a glowing beast. Erza saw the light of Loke's magic clash with a darkness that flickered around the illusion. The air hung still for an instant, before the illusion and the darkness around Zeref cracked and fell.

* * *

Zeref looked up from his work with the book of E.N.D.

"Hello, stranger," Leo quipped, his hand diving into his pocket and replacing his glasses. "Pardon the intrusion, but I believe you have something that doesn't really belong to you."

Zeref raised an eyebrow at the spirit's implication- something that didn't belong to him?

"The rules of possession and ownership differ between mortals and immortals," the dark wizard replied, lifting his free hand. "As you ought to know, Leo."

He pointed two fingers at the leader of the Zodiac, dispelling his black magic toward him. The runes from the tome flew around him at a slower pace given his split focus, but Zeref wasn't keen on being interrupted.

 **Lion's Mane!**

Leo drew a nine-point diagram of the Lion constellation with his magic. A barrier of bright light appeared between the spirit and Zeref's attack.

"You've lost your shyness," Leo said, his magic stalemating that of the immortal mage. "But I'm not here to philosophize or reminisce. You see"

 **Cold Excalibur!**

The raven-haired boy charged in, slashing at Zeref with an ice sword. The dark wizard shifted so the sword cut through his free hand- his curse healed over the wound left behind. The Fullbuster child glared.

"Tricks and illusions tend to aggravate me," he said, one of his eyes flashing violet as demon markings crawled up his arm. "Hand over the book or I'll take it along with that hand."

Zeref regarded the threat with mild amusement and pensiveness before preparing minor Ankhseram magic.

"Why should I?" he asked, even while he cast the sure-kill spell.

"Gray, get down!" Leo shouted, but the ice mage just rolled out of the black magic's path and pushed ahead.

 **Ice Devil's Jagged Spear!**

The shirtless wizard thrust an ice spear tinted with demon slayer magic toward Zeref. The immortal emperor made a sweep with his right hand and manipulated one of his fallen soldier's bodies. The ragdoll form flew until it came between Zeref and the boy's weapon. The soldier was skewered, and the dull smell of rotting meat arose as a consequence of manipulation by Zeref.

"Y-you slimy bastard," Fullbuster murmured, shocked into apparent paralysis. "You used one of you own just like that?"

Zeref lifted his eyebrow again. Was the boy deaf? He hadn't answered Zeref's earlier question. Shrugging, the black mage used the limp body to push the younger wizard away. The soldier's body sank further onto the ice spear as a result. Not that the emperor took much notice.

"He was just a pawn. I am his eternal ruler," Zeref said, one eye keeping track of his progress with the book. "His life was forfeit to me when he chose to be in my army"

"Silence!"

The redhead, Titania, came next. Zeref glanced up to find the daunting vision of a fiery-haired fairy bearing down on him with a large spiked mace. The immortal wizard just managed to avoid being smashed, a fate the ground he'd been standing on wasn't able to escape.

Clad in black body armor with spikes to match her weapon, the esteemed Queen of Fairies followed after him. Zeref sighed. His physique wasn't such that he could keep pace with these younger wizards without using magic.

"Why are you so set on taking this book all of a sudden?"

"You're _killing_ Natsu!"

Zeref frowned.

"What concern is it of yours if I am?" He ignored the fact that killing his brother was far from anything he was doing.

"Because he's our friend!"

Zeref peeked over his shoulder. The younger dragon slayer- Winry, perhaps- was the owner of the smaller voice.

 **Sky Dragon's Roar!**

The child blew out a gale toward him, while the redhead closed in from the front. Zeref let muscle rather than conscious memory dictate his reply. Reflector magic flowed out of his fingers, redirecting the little dragon's air around him and into Titania.

"I'm sure Natsu appreciates the little facade you've all put on for his benefit," he said, absently sending another shot of Ankhseram's magic toward the blue-haired girl. "But"

 **Ice Make: Cinderblock!**

Before Zeref could finish, he found his feet encased in thick cubes of ice, doubtless courtesy of the Fullbuster boy.

"It's _not_ a facade!"

"But." Zeref said in a firm tone. "To say that the book doesn't belong to me is presumptuous. And all of you are fools to try using force to take it from me. I gave Natsu life. As with all things I've created, I'm free to use him at my discretion"

The sound that broke into Zeref's words for the umpteenth time was not a voice. Rather, that of a whip slicing through the air.

* * *

"Natsu," Lucy said with acid in her voice. She pulled her whip tight around the book of E.N.D. in Zeref's hand. "Is not" she set her feet against the ground and pulled back in a sudden, swift motion. "A tool!"

The blond teenager reached her hand out to catch the tome. Once in her grasp, she closed it, stopping the flow of runes, and gripped it so hard her knuckles turned white. Lucy glared at the immortal black-eyed mage.

"You have no right to decide whether he lives or dies, no matter how powerful you are!"

Zeref stared at her while she took a gulp of air. Lucy wasn't sure if she'd ever shouted with so much heat behind her voice. The burning was replaced with a chill in almost an instant.

"So much like Anna," Zeref murmured.

Lucy shivered as the dark wizard melted the ice around his feet. Just his gaze made her skin crawl.

"Regardless, I'm going to have to take that back."

"Not happening!"

Lucy saw Gray, who'd pushed back onto his feet, rush Zeref with Erza. The ice mage called to her over his shoulder.

"Lucy! Give the book to Loke and send him back!"

 **Trinity Sword!**

Back in her Heaven's Wheel Armor, Erza was the first to make a move. Lucy took a moment before she understood what Gray meant.

"My lady!"

"Right!"

Her spirit was already by her side, hands open and waiting to take the book. Loke looked at her with reluctance in his face.

"Will you be all right without me?"

"Of course!" Lucy said, shoving the book toward him. Even as his hands closed around it, she held on with her fingers.

"Please," she whispered. "Keep it safe, okay?"

The Lion spirit gave his usual confident closed-mouth smile, readjusting his glasses with one hand.

"Of course. My love for you will ensure its protection!"

Lucy rolled her eyes as Loke disappeared. Her Star Dress changed back into her usual attire. She pulled out her golden keys, ready to summon another spirit.

"Oh well."

Lucy blinked. Twice. Zeref looked like he was also fading right in front of her and her teammates.

"It won't really change anything now, I suppose."

Zeref seemed to be thinking aloud more than talking to any of the other wizards. Gray didn't appear to appreciate that.

"Oi!"

Without another word, the immortal mage was gone. Lucy did multiple double takes before letting out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Relief crashed onto rather than washed over her, and she was about to let herself sink to the ground when Happy's cry broke the sudden silence.

"Everyone! Come quick! Something's wrong!"

Lucy stiffened and set off running.

"What is it, Happy?" She asked before she saw the fire mage's body and took in a sharp breath. Natsu's skin was covered in blotches, darker than bruises yet not discolored. Lucy knelt beside him. At least he'd stopped screaming. Happy looked at Lucy, a silent question in his eyes. The celestial spirit mage shook her head, _I don't know._

Wendy and Gray were there moments later, Erza trailing behind. Wendy nipped at her knuckle while Gray muttered dark curses.

"Something isn't right."

Lucy turned to look at Erza, whose expression seemed pensive, if not blank.

"You mean aside from fire fart's new sunburn?"

Gray's comment earned a scowl from Lucy. Erza shook her head.

"None of you noticed?"

She gestured all around them with a sweeping motion of her arm.

"All of Zeref's army has vanished as well."


	3. Prelude to THE END (III)

**Prelude to The END (III)**

Gajeel scowled. He'd been in the middle of a mess of Alvarez soldiers until a minute ago. The pair of swords he'd taken off the last moron to charge at him was the only evidence they'd ever been there. He nibbled at one of the metal blades and swept his eyes across the abandoned town that had become a battlefield.

"Oi, Shrimp," Gajeel said, turning to the short blue-haired woman. "What happened? Did we win or somethin'?"

"I don't know," Levy said, closing the distance between them. "I wouldn't mind if we did, but it doesn't feel like it."

Gajeel grunted his agreement. He trusted Levy's brain almost as much as he did his own instincts. If they both thought something was off, it was a damn near certainty they were right. He took another chomp out of the sword in his left hand, smelling Levy's self-appointed posse of two approaching. He ignored them, instead looking up.

"Lily," he muttered, his Exceed partner landing on his shoulder. "Go with Juvia and check out the outskirts of town."

Gajeel rested an elbow on Levy's head.

"Shrimp and me will look around the northern part of town."

Jet and Droy started whining.

"Now hold on!"

"Why do you get to go with Levy-chan?"

Gajeel snapped the blade off the hilt of the first sword with his teeth and glowered.

"You two _will_ take the southern half," he said. "Unless there's a problem with that?"

The other two men clammed up and barked cooperative denials.

"If ya find something, signal. If ya don't," Gajeel said, pointing toward an overhanging cliff outside of town. "Meet up there in a few hours."

Juvia and Lily were the first to leave. Jet and Droy fussed over Levy until Gajeel yelled at them again. The iron dragon slayer crushed the hilt of the blade he'd eaten and tossed the pieces after them, huffing.

"I'm impressed."

Gajeel caught Levy looking up at him.

"Huh?"

Impressed? What did he do?

"I just mean you don't usually take charge like that."

Gajeel scratched his head and raised a pierced eyebrow. He'd been in charge of a whole regiment of the Magic Council's enforcers for the past year. What was she talking about? The black-haired mage thought Levy's face turned a little bit pink.

"You handled it very maturely," she said, flicking her eyes down. "I'm proud of you."

Gajeel wouldn't have heard the last bit except for his heightened sense of hearing. He stiffened, uncertain how to respond. Even Metalicana used to be reserved with expressing pride in him.

"Well, the demon woman ain't here," he said, crossing his arms. "And we're too far from the guild to talk to anybody about what's going on." He tapped his elbow with the flat of the sword he had left. "Can't just sit and do nothin', might as well try figuring things out, right?"

The more he rambled, the more Gajeel realized how right Levy was, as usual. The dragon slayer never took crap from anyone, but he'd always been fine with taking orders so long as he got to bust heads on the way. He'd never considered being the one to give orders. Gajeel forced himself to look back at Levy.

"Thanks," he grumbled, earning a small smile from the script mage. The smile vanished sooner than he would've liked once they started investigating the town, though. He knew just from sniffing the air that Zeref's soldiers had been almost everywhere, but their scents were weakening and they didn't lead anywhere. Levy seemed tense and quieter than usual. Gajeel smirked, twirling the sword in his hand.

"Gihi, maybe they did give up," he said, leering down at his partner. "Guess that means I'll get to lock you up in the guild prison sooner."

Levy just looked at him and hummed, sounding as unconvinced as he felt. He growled and took a bite out of the sword. At least Alvarez made tasty iron.

* * *

Loke sighed as he walked toward Crux' library. He'd been careful to avoid worrying Lucy, but even his brief exchange with Zeref had worn him out. He loosened his tie with his free hand, still holding the book of E.N.D. in the other.

"Leo-sama."

Loke recognized the voice before he paused to turn around. He found more than one of his fellow spirits behind him.

"Capricorn," Loke said, smiling and waving. "How lovely to receive such a greeting upon my return. You all waited for little old me?"

Scorpio let out a jolly laugh while Virgo's blank face remained impassive. Aries squirmed a bit; Capricorn kept stiff in his impeccable posture. The rest bombarded Loke with questions.

"Piri piri, we were worried," began one of the twins. "About Lucy!" the other finished.

"Moshi moshi! We did not expect you back so soon!"

"Tell us what went down-ebi!"

"Moo! You didn't let anyone hurt Lucy's perfect body, did you," Taurus yelled, grabbing Loke's shoulders. The Lion spirit sighed again.

"Gemini," he said. "If you don't mind?"

The twin spirits glanced at one another before a cloud surrounded one of them. When it cleared, a copy of Lucy stood in nothing but a towel and a sultry look on her face.

"Taurus~"

Actual steam shot out of the Bull spirit's nostrils before he began chasing the clone. Loke conjured a table and pulled up a chair. He threw his coat over the back of it. He set the tome on the table and sat down. He was about to roll up his sleeves when a familiar voice and threatening shadow loomed behind him.

"Quit stalling and start talking, kitty," Aquarius said. "Or I'll soak you to the bone."

Loke knew better than to look her in the eye or talk back, so instead he straightened in his seat.

"Yes ma'am."

Even Taurus was listening with a sober expression before Loke was finished.

"Illusionary magic?"

To the surprise of most, Aquarius seemed to be giving her undivided attention. She asked questions more than any of the others. Loke nodded.

"Lucy was researching more than just the whereabouts of the members of Fairy Tail for the past year," he said, his fingers never leaving the cover of E.N.D.'s book. "She also had some of us looking into ancient magic and Zeref's sort specifically."

Aquarius hummed, pressing her back further into Scorpio's chest.

"Not bad," she whispered.

"How did you recognize it-ebi?"

Loke leaned back in his chair.

"The magic differs from typical illusions in both effect and power," he said, fiddling with his tie. "Rather than an illusion of what the user wants the target to see, it shows either one of two things depending on the target's emotional state; their greatest desire, or their immediate worst fear."

Scorpio chuckled.

"Don't try telling me you were the only one who wasn't fooled."

Loke smiled, unabashed.

"No, but I figured it out based on the reactions of my teammates," he said. "Erza saw Jellal." Loke's eyes flickered over to Aquarius and Scorpio. The water spirit's scowl lacked its usual edge with her blushing. "And Wendy saw Chelia, her sky sister. The sweet girl probably wanted to see her friend get her magic back."

The Gemini twins cooed. Aries took timid steps forward, stammering.

"Um, wh-what did you see, Leo?"

Loke felt a giant grin grow onto his face and he stood to sidle up to the shy spirit.

"I saw my love Aries," he whispered, leaning in to breathe against her ear. "Dressed in only my shirt and tie, and wearing a tiny little"

Aries, face burning red, squeaked and scurried behind Capricorn.

"I-I-I'm sorry~!"

Loke gave a happy sigh. Scorpio roared with laughter; Aquarius chided Aries on her shyness. Others suggested various ways to comfort the embarrassed Ram.

"Leo-sama."

Capricorn brought back the tense atmosphere and broke the chatter.

"You still haven't told us about this book you came back with."

Everyone's eyes turned to the Lion spirit. He ran a hand through his hair and sat back down.

"Zeref's most powerful demon was created through this book," he said, voice low. Several of his fellow spirits gasped. He kept his eyes trained on the tome's cover.

"And that demon just happens to be one of Fairy Tail's members, Natsu Dragneel."

Loke struggled to keep his expression even as a shocked silence fell.

"Pinky?"

Aquarius was the first to break it. Loke murmured affirmation; apprehensive of what he knew was coming. Yet he pushed on.

"Lucy and the others entrusted the book- and, I guess, Natsu's life- to me."

Loke looked up to find Capricorn staring down at him. The Goat spirit set his palms on the table and leaned toward the Zodiac leader.

"You brought it here even knowing the laws we have about demons and related cursed artifacts?"

The Lion spirit nodded.

"I've been known to break rules before."

Capricorn curled his digits to crack his knuckles on the table. Danger crept into his calm tone.

"You'd carelessly toss aside consideration of celestial law at Lucy-sama's request?"

Loke rose to his full height so his face was level with Capricorns.

"Yes, _if_ the situation came up and she asked me, I would," he said, taking off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt.

"What about her safe"

"But," Loke interrupted. "It isn't just her asking. Gray, Erza, Wendy and the rest of Natsu's guild mates are too. And even if she didn't ask me, if I thought it necessary, I would have done it anyway."

Loke turned around and let his shirt slide off his shoulders, revealing the green guild mark on his back.

"Because, in case you've forgotten, Natsu is my guild mate too."

Loke spun around and buttoned his shirt back up, never breaking eye contact with Capricorn. Aries spoke up.

"Um, you're not planning to open it are you? I'm sorry."

Virgo muttered something about justification for punishment before Loke answered.

"Of course not. But I am going to do some research on it."

"Moshi moshi, another request from Lucy?"

Loke shook his head.

"No. Like I said, she didn't need to. I'm just looking out for a friend."

The Lion spirit replaced his tie.

"I'll need to ask Crux' permission to use his library, but I understand if he doesn't want to be implicated," he said, slipping on his coat. "All I ask from you is that you wait until the King asks about it before saying anything. Don't lie for me, though. I'll take on the consequences myself."

Loke reached to take the book, only to find another hand spread over it.

"Don't be such a dramatic loser," Aquarius scolded. "Obviously we're going to help you."

* * *

Lucy spurred her horse to ride faster, anxiety eating at her gut. Happy had set off flying back to the guild with Natsu. Erza had designated Wendy and Charla as the fire mage's escort. Gray and Erza would investigate the sudden disappearance of Zeref's army. Lucy had volunteered to remain with them, but Erza had turned her down.

 _"Go to the nearest town with a train line still functioning and ride back to the guild."_

Gray quashed any half-hearted protests she may have made.

 _"The idiot needs you, Lucy."_

The celestial spirit mage sucked in her bottom lip. Natsu was hurt in ways even Wendy couldn't heal. Lucy's mind tried grabbing onto one thing to worry about. She jumped from Natsu's condition; his demonic origins; whatever Zeref had done; where the black mage had gone; how the rest of the guild was responding.

A glow from the ring of keys on her waist broke the rampant strain of concerns. Somehow, even though none of them were with her, Lucy heard the reassuring voices of her spirits. One in particular managed to make her smile a little.

 _Thank you Loke._

* * *

Zeref watched the colors change in the sky as the sun came slanting down toward the horizon. The forms of his army, in varying individual stages of life or the lack thereof, surrounded him.

"Unfortunate. I can't remember what his curse power was," the immortal wizard said, closing his eyes. "Forty eight hours, Fairy Tail."

* * *

 **A/N:** Was this part a bit fluffy? I don't know if I've ever done fluff before, but maybe I'm getting feels moments mixed up with fluff. More dialogue in this one. I never would have guessed that some of these characters are tricky to write dialogue for, at least when I'd expect to be able to!

Not a ton happened here, but it brings the prelude to a close, and sets up the main story all right.

Also, no, Lucy does not still have Aquarius' key nor did she find it in the days between Natsu coming back to the guild and going out again. My head canon just puts Aquarius still in the Celestial Spirit realm.

Anyway, hopefully you enjoyed it! Leave a review if you did! If you didn't, go for it anyway!


	4. Heartburn

**Heartburn**

Happy stumbled up the stairs leading to the second floor of the guild. The little blue Exceed's day could have been better in a lot of ways.

The flight back to the guild had left him almost depleted of magic; he couldn't bring out his wings to fly anywhere; his stomach sounded lonely and he was out of fish; Mira wasn't around, so he had no hopes of sneaking anything from the kitchen. Worst of all, his best friend and father figure was lying in the infirmary for the second time in just a few days.

Happy rubbed at his eyes with his paws. All he wanted in the world was a fish for a snack and to curl up for a nap until his favorite dragon slayer woke up. Ever since they'd gotten back, though, all the other guild members had to take their turn asking him questions about what happened.

"Happy."

The little cat groaned. Master Makarov was no exception. Happy was beckoned over to a table near the S-Class job request board.

"Aye."

He waited. He didn't know what Makarov wanted, but he had a guess.

"I know the details already. But I want to hear it from you," Makarov said. Happy whimpered. He wanted to sleep! "How long did you know?"

The Exceed's hair stood. He'd had a feeling, but it was certain now. He'd gotten into trouble enough times to know when a lecture was lurking.

"Um. Know what?" Happy asked, playing the act of innocence. Makarov shook his head.

"You know what I mean, Happy. How long did you know what Natsu is?"

The hungry cat let his tail fall to the floor.

"Since we went to fight Zeref before."

Makarov's expression hardened. Happy's eyes trailed down to his feet.

"You knew for a few days, then."

Happy's shoulders slumped.

"And you never said a word to anyone."

His head drooped.

"Why?"

The blue Exceed's voice wavered.

"Natsu asked me not to."

Makarov gave an agitated sigh.

"Look where that got us," he said.

"I didn't think it was gonna" Happy started, waving his arms. "I mean, I never wanted- Natsu wouldn't- I!" The young cat was on the verge of tears.

"Happy," Makarov said. "Listen closely."

The Exceed quieted, sniffling.

"Everyone has their secrets," the old master began. "That's fine. In our guild, it's a rare person who doesn't have some private burden." Makarov gestured to the guild members on the floor below.

"But," he continued. "We're a family. We share in joy, tears, anger, triumph and pain, spoken or not."

Happy nodded.

"Whenever I see one of my precious brats come home with injuries that needn't have happened, it ages me. When one of us endures suffering, everyone feels it. Do you understand?"

Happy set his mouth in a line and curled his paws.

"Aye sir."

Makarov held his hard stare a few moments before giving Happy a soft smile.

"Good," he said, patting Happy's head. "Go see to Natsu with Wendy. I had Kinana bring up a fish from the kitchen."

The blue Exceed's mood skyrocketed and he trotted toward the infirmary with stars in his eyes.

"Thank you~!"

* * *

Makarov watched the little cat bound away and out of sight. The old wizard saint massaged his chest, shallow breaths coming through gritted teeth.

"Not yet. Not now..." he muttered, one hand slapping on top of the table for the mug he'd left there. Finding the beverage, he took a few tentative sips to wet his dry mouth and worked to steady his heart. The episode passed with a few minutes. Makarov sighed, grateful that Happy hadn't noticed his sweating palms.

"Are you unwell, master?"

Makarov put on his best smile for the spirit of master Mavis.

"Of course not. I'm fine."

He managed a weak chuckle before another spike of inflammation in his chest cut him short.

"Worried about the children?" Mavis asked.

Makarov straightened, taking another gulp from his drink.

"I'm honestly getting too old for this nonsense," he said. "It's bad enough being in charge of this guild on a normal day!"

Mavis giggled.

"Are you indulging in self-pity?"

Makarov scoffed.

"No! I just don't see why these brats insist on keeping me as master."

He set down his drink and wiped his palms on his sleeves.

"If that nomadic brat Gildarts could sit still, he'd be excellent for the position. The rest of them got the right idea electing Erza while I was in Alvarez. Hell, even my boy Laxus has matured enough to take over if need be."

The miniscule giant walked to the second floor railing.

"They're all growing into fine young men and women. The way they've handled themselves is enough to make a parent die from pride," he said. He took a moment to appreciate the sight of everyone discussing how to react to the war's latest development. "And I can't say how much more I can stand seeing them get hurt."

Mavis' soothing voice answered the tired mage.

"They are growing powerful. They may not need your protection as they once did, but they are still your children in every sense that matters," Mavis said, smiling. "You are a constant in their chaotic lives. You have been their first source of stability since they found home here."

Makarov blinked to dry his eyes and coughed before heading to the stairs.

"Ah, don't mind me," he said, waving a hand. "Just an old man griping about chest pains and the passage of time."

* * *

Charla was struggling to maintain her usual composure. She had taken a spot in a bed by Wendy adjacent to Natsu and Happy. The white Exceed still felt almost empty on magic power, but her premonitions were keeping her from sleep.

She rolled over to check on Wendy. Her charge was dozing despite her insistence on staying up to watch over Natsu. Charla smiled and shook her head, stroking the young mage's hair with a paw.

 _Fire._

She grimaced. It was coming to her again.

 _Wendy screaming._

Under any other circumstances, Charla would be wrestling with panic, but she had never felt more drained in all her life!

 _The guild filled with shouts and cries. Magnolia lit up with the fight of two beasts._

She clutched her head, trying to control the flow and intensity of the visions. She had difficulty making sense of them in her state.

 _Anguished crying._

The sound of stirring from the other bed broke into Charla's premonitions. Happy mumbled, groggy from deep sleep. Charla glanced over; the fire mage was moving.

"Natsu!" Happy cried, waking up Wendy. The younger dragon slayer shot up from the bed, stumbling to the floor from the sudden motion.

"Natsu-san!"

Charla stood up on the head of her bed to look at Natsu. The pink-haired wizard's skin had worsened; the black splotches having spread to cover most of his body. Only various spots on his face still showed his tan skin tone.

"How're you feeling?"

Wendy asked from the foot of his bed. Happy leaned over from his spot on a pillow with an expectant look. The fire mage groaned, shifting his head before fluttering his eyelids open a crack.

Charla frowned. She swore she saw something beige protruding from Natsu's pink locks. The dragon slayer's eyes opened, his dark pupils unfocused as he lifted his head to look at Wendy. The blue-haired girl smiled.

"Thank goodness"

She never got to finish. Natsu produced a foreign, unnatural sound from his throat.

Charla pieced together an instant too late what her visions were warning her about-

Fire.

* * *

Yeah, this was a brief one to start things off. I promise there is set up for the story in here! A few things will make sense later on.

On a more personal note, thanks to everyone who's read, favorited and followed this story so far! I've gotten more follows on this story than any other I've written, which makes me happy! If you like this chapter, leave a review! Otherwise, type something just to give your fingers the practice!

 **To those who've reviewed** :

0FairyTail0: I'm hoping that means you're intrigued and possibly on the edge of your seat. Thanks for the review!

Aj Neko: Thank you! I'm glad the tension comes through in the story!


	5. Two Beasts

Disclaimer: I still don't own Fairy Tail. If I had the power to change that within a few days, I probably wouldn't be here.

Also, not for nothing, but possible **trigger warning** for those who've been badly burned before.

* * *

 **Two Beasts**

Max adjusted his weight against his beloved broom.

"Okay," he said. "Let's go over what we know."

Those still awake grunted half-hearted acknowledgement. Max, also tired, pushed nonetheless.

"C'mon. There's gotta be something we're overlooking that's just really obvious."

Warren lifted his head up from the table.

"That makes some kind of sense," he said, rubbing his eyes. "All right, a few hours ago, we'd cut down all but two of Zeref's guards."

Max nodded and contributed to the list, hoping to build some momentum.

"Mira broke off from Gajeel's group with Cana to deal with one of them," he said. Laki picked up from there.

"Gray dealt with the last one."

"And now his whole army," Warren said, staring at his Magic Radar. "Is just gone, him with it."

Alzack, who'd been dozing, yawned and picked himself up with a mumble.

"Why are we repeating stuff we already know to each other?" He asked.

Warren slapped his palms to his forehead.

"I don't know! We've been at this for hours and nothing about this makes sense," he said, his chin thumping on the table. "Never mind _how_ he did it, why would he just vanish? His guards were beaten, yeah, but he's Zeref!"

Max rubbed his chin, a thought percolating in his mind.

"Well," he said, twirling his broom with one hand. "One thing has changed. Natsu's here now."

The others looked at him as one. Max wondered why he felt a weakness in his knees before Warren gulped.

"You don't think"

A loud cry and a crash from the second floor brought the brainstorming session to a screeching halt.

* * *

Makarov, with Mavis close behind him, slammed open the door to his office and ran into the foyer. He'd heard the crash and swept the room with his eyes before glancing up to the second floor. For all the things he'd seen in his many years, what he saw caused a numbing tingle in his hands.

Natsu sat on top of the second floor railing. The boy's skin had turned the color of coal, and his hair seemed a shade darker. These things didn't provoke fear from Makarov, though. The fear came because of the solid black Tartaros guild mark on the center of Natsu's chest- position mirroring Makarov's own guild mark- and the way the fire mage's eyes darted from one Fairy Tail wizard to another. He looked like he was hunting.

"Natsu-nii?"

Makarov heard Romeo's voice break into the quiet tension. Natsu snarled and jumped from his perch. A stream of white flames poured from his mouth. The guild members scattered on the floor below as demonic fire rained down. Natsu landed in the midst of it, the flames he spat out spreading faster than his dragon slayer magic. Tables burned away as if being erased from existence.

Makarov watched Natsu pick his target. To the old man's horror, he chose Bisca, who held a sobbing Asuka to her shoulder. Natsu lunged, Makarov moving to intervene.

 **Beast Arm: Black Bull!**

From the other end of the building, Elfman stormed toward Natsu. The large man's voice and noisy approach distracted the fire mage from his initial target. Elfman struck Natsu's face with a huge black fist and sent him crashing through the guild entrance. The take over mage charged outside before Makarov could stop him.

"Get the flames under control," he said, running to stop Natsu himself. "And don't leave the building!"

Macao took issue with the master's orders.

"But"

The Fairy Tail veteran didn't get far in his protest.

"You brats will stay here until I tell you otherwise!"

Makarov's voice thundered above the already considerable clamor. The eldest Dreyar ran outside without waiting to field any complaints. He'd made such declarations once before, but his brats were stubborn. He prayed they would listen now.

"Natsu! Elfman!"

Makarov found himself staring at a massive white fireball careening toward the guildhall. He swore. There wasn't time for the wizards to evacuate.

Wasting no time or thought, Makarov called on his magic, doubling his size more than ten times over. In his giant form, he caught the flames. He used his light magic to nullify some of the hellish blaze, but the heat still seared his hands and his forearms.

Groaning with the effort, he dispelled the fireball with a greater output of light magic. His arms fell, blistered and glowing with harsh burns. Regardless, the old wizard saint had to find Natsu. The consideration of the force necessary to contain him crossed his mind. The unpleasant idea was followed by images of what might happen otherwise.

And, not for the first time that day, Makarov's body betrayed him. Pain seized his chest, and he couldn't help doubling over. The intense agony sapped his strength from him, and he shrank before collapsing.

* * *

"That wasn't Natsu-nii."

Romeo made a mantra out of those words as he scrambled with everyone else to stop the fire. His dad, Wakaba and Laki smothered the errant flames with their magic, while Max handled most of the damage control via his sandstorm. Bisca and Alzack used variations of their guns magic to keep the blaze from spreading. Asuka had gone from her mom to Romeo to Kinana in less than a minute.

All the while Romeo kept telling himself that whatever had started this panic wasn't his hero. He got a telepathic warning from Warren of more white flame leaping toward him. He ducked out of its path, watching it set in along the staircase to the second floor.

Second floor-

"Wendy," he gasped. He gathered himself and ran up the stairs. Despite the worried call from his father, Romeo leapt over the stray flames. He landed more on his shoulder than his feet, but he kept moving until he was in the infirmary. To his relief, though the room smelled of smoke, there were no flames. He noticed Natsu's scarf resting on a bedside table. Then he saw three bodies lying on the floor.

Wendy lay face down by Charla. Romeo knelt next to the young dragon slayer. Happy moaned, burn marks lining his paws and body. The blue Exceed mumbled Natsu's name, and Romeo stiffened.

"This wasn't Natsu-nii!"

"Romeo-kun," Wendy murmured. She shifted. Romeo forced his eyes back open.

"Wendy," he said, taking care as he rolled her onto her back. Her head fell onto his lap, and his breath caught. Her left arm was blistered and glowing from severe burns, and the same side of her face was-

"Wendy," he said again, his voice low and shaking. He pulled her up until she was resting against him. "Are- are you"

"It hurts," she said. A light whimper escaped her when Romeo's hand brushed her arm. He cringed and pulled it back. He looped one arm around her and rocked her back and forth in gentle motions, as much to comfort her as calm his own nerves. After several deep breaths, he found his voice somewhere in his dried throat.

"Where does it hurt worst," he asked, shutting out the commotion that lay just on the other side of the wall. "Arm or face?"

Wendy's eyelids fluttered. Romeo tried to school his expression into one of confident sympathy, hoping his fear didn't show.

"My face," she began. "Doesn't hurt at all."

Romeo's arm around Wendy tensed. He knew that the most serious burns left no sensation of pain. He shook his head.

"Okay," he said, working to keep his voice from cracking. "Uh, hold still for me."

Wendy mumbled in reply. Romeo hovered his free hand over her blistering arm. He could do this. Focusing, he created an icy cold, blue flame in his palm.

* * *

Elfman recognized that look in Natsu's eyes. He'd spent too many restless nights reliving too many nightmares to ever forget.

They were the eyes of a mindless being, of someone who'd lost control.

Natsu ran rampant in Magnolia, spitting fire at anything that moved. Elfman struggled to keep up with him while still preventing anyone who'd refused to evacuate days earlier from getting hurt. He watched a stray fireball land in the river that ran through the town. The water did nothing to weaken the flames. If anything, it spread faster. White fire coursed down the river.

 **Beast Arm: Iron Bull!**

Elfman sprinted ahead of the roaring river of fire to a stone bridge. He shouted for anyone nearby to get clear. He stopped at the center of the structure and smashed down with his transformed fist. The bridge collapsed and the flow of water ebbed and stopped, boxing in the inferno. Elfman climbed out of the rubble, hearing the crazed dragon slayer approaching.

"Natsu," he said, closing his hand into a fist again. "Losing control is NOT MANLY!"

Elfman brought his fist across Natsu's face with a loud smack. The take over mage worried for a moment that he'd broken the fire mage's jaw. The pink-haired wizard seemed unharmed, though. Natsu paused when he turned back to look at Elfman, his head cocked. The white-haired mage thought he saw a glimmer of recognition in the dragon slayer's eyes. Did he get through to him?

Natsu quashed his hopes with a swipe of his hand. At least he had stopped spewing fire. Still, Elfman needed to get him away from Magnolia.

 **Take Over: Beast Soul!**

Transformed, the muscular wizard leapt away into the night, prompting Natsu to follow him. It wasn't a very manly tactic, but he knew it was necessary. As he led Natsu toward the forest, he wondered how he could bring him back to his senses. Lisanna had- Elfman cringed. That method hadn't worked. But he had to try anyway.

He whirled around, greeted by Natsu lunging at him. Elfman set his feet in the dirt, locking hands with the berserk dragon slayer.

"Natsu," he said, raising his voice over the fire mage's growls. "You need to calm down. I know you can hear me- I've been where you are now."

Elfman set his teeth, the claws on his hands matched by those now on Natsu's hands.

"You are not a monster," he said. "You are a Fairy Tail wizard! You are a MAN!"

Elfman felt his legs shaking from exertion, yet he held his stance. He grunted and winced when Natsu mangled and broke a few of his fingers. Still, he held. The strength in his form left him, and even so, he kept on through his willpower.

Until he felt his magic vanish and his transformation die in the same instant.

"Wha"

Elfman's knees buckled and Natsu gnashed his teeth. Elfman fell backwards and was smashed head first into the ground. He shut his eyes against the sudden exhaustion and pain. Natsu's hands gripped his face. The fire wizard hoisted Elfman's huge form over his head, swinging him by his neck until-

Crack.

Elfman flew through the air and crashed into several trees. He landed in a pile of foliage, a moaning mess. He heard Natsu cry out as if in pain.

The take over mage couldn't move.

"Natsu," he said, breathing heavy from the effort just to crane his neck. The dragon slayer charged toward him again.

 **Crash!**

* * *

 **A/N:** Yo! I posted two things that I finished writing in the same day. I may be ill, but I'm feeling pretty good about that!

Things have started moving now. I did what I could working inside of each character's perspective. Let me know how I did and what you think in a review if you enjoyed it! If not, you know the drill, peck away at letters on the keyboard with your nose until the screen shows something to say!


	6. Crash & Burn

Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima and probably a couple others. I am not among those couple others.

* * *

 **Crash & Burn**

 **Crash!**

Gildarts kept the blast radius of his magic in check- no easy task for Fairy Tail's ace. He meant only to discourage further combat. Natsu leapt back from Elfman, avoiding the impact.

"Natsu," he said. He'd noticed the unmistakable pink hair from a distance. Elfman's deep voice rumbling about manhood left no room for confusion either. "I know you love a good spar. But I think he's had enough."

Gildarts took his first good look at the fire mage. He saw the horns before anything else, which for some reason summoned the image of livestock in his mind.

"Oh," he said, smirking. "Did you teach him some of your take over arts, Elfman?"

The largest Strauss sibling didn't answer. Gildarts glanced over his shoulder to find the white-haired wizard lying very still. The crash mage heard snarls coming from Natsu, but paid them no mind; instead kneeling to inspect whatever damage had been dealt.

"You might have overdone it, Na"

Gildarts raised his arm to block Natsu's lunging attack. His magic, difficult as ever to control, responded on its own. White light engulfed the pink-haired wizard, and a new crater formed next to Gildarts. He chuckled and rose.

"Though I shouldn't be too hard on you," he said as he turned to face the fire mage. "I've never been good at holding back either."

Natsu, still on his feet, growled and threw another fist at him. Gildarts used his improved prosthetic to block it and- to his surprise- found himself knocked back several feet. His replacement limb sizzled. His easy confidence shifted and he frowned. He didn't sense dragon slayer magic being used. He looked at Natsu again, seeing something on his chest in the dim light; a foreign guild mark, one that Gildarts recognized.

"You tried taking over a demon of Tartaros," he asked no one in particular, since Natsu seemed even less articulate than usual. "Leave it to you to charge into something too quickly."

Despite the serious situation, a ghost of a fond smile blinked onto Gildarts' face. He fended off and rebutted a new crazed assault from Natsu, feeling a little nostalgic. He'd been in similar scenarios with the young dragon slayer countless times.

Or at least, he believed they were similar. Until he saw a shroud of white flames form about Natsu's hand.

For perhaps the first time, Gildarts moved to avoid Natsu's attack. The shot of fire continued on a straight trajectory along the ground, incinerating any trees or boulders in its path. Grimacing, Gildarts ducked the fire mage's next punch and caught him with a body blow that sent him back. Gildarts turned to address the flames.

 **Crash!**

Though he had to wreck a significant portion of the forest floor, he managed to stop the fire. He returned his attention to the raging dragon slayer. Natsu greeted him with a pair of clawed hands locking onto his right arm.

As soon as physical contact was established, Gildarts felt something shift in- or rather, tug on- his magic. Deeming it best to avoid dragging out a scrap, he lifted Natsu up overhead and broke down the walls he maintained around his magic power.

Before he could strike, though, Natsu cried out and let him go. The horned mage leapt backwards, fixing Gildarts with wide eyes. He hissed and turned to flee.

"Oi!" Gildarts called. Natsu spit out a ball of white fire from his mouth. He had escaped by the time Gildarts dealt with it. The ace of Fairy Tail scratched his head. What had that been about? He walked back to Elfman, who grunted as he neared.

"Did something happen while I was gone?"

Gildarts had more answers than he expected, yet fewer than he wanted as he arrived outside the guildhall. He carried an immobile Elfman over one shoulder, and, in typical fashion, entered the building via medium of wall.

"Yo," he said, walking in through Makarov's office door. He tried putting his casual good nature into his greeting. "How goes"

He stopped in place. The guildhall looked much more trashed than usual, even by Fairy Tail standards, like someone had attacked them.

"Gildarts!"

Macao was first to notice the crash mage. The others, so absorbed in the tense atmosphere, responded with varying degrees of enthusiasm until they saw Elfman.

"Elf-nii-chan!"

Lisanna cried, rushing to help those carrying him to the infirmary.

"First the Master, now Elfman."

"And Wendy's in pretty bad condition, too."

"Gildarts, did you see Natsu?"

"What happened?"

The ace of Fairy Tail held up a hand. He rubbed at his jaw.

"Yes, I did," he said, taking a seat at one of the remaining bar stools. "But first, someone should tell me what's going on."

Mavis was about to oblige, but the communication lacrima began flashing. Gildarts tapped it and Laxus' face appeared. The lightning mage raised an eyebrow.

"You're back?"

Gildarts gave a half-hearted smirk in reply.

"What's going on there?"

He shrugged.

"I was trying to find out myself."

The other guild members traded looks before pushing Macao forward. Gildarts called for Kinana to set him up with something strong. He had a feeling he'd need a drink.

* * *

"The old man is hurt?"

Laxus kept his agitation checked by taking it out on the chair he'd been using.

"Yeah," Macao said. "It looks like a relapse of his heart trouble."

Laxus cringed and grit his teeth. He didn't need to be reminded of the last time Makarov had suffered from heart problems. The events of the Fantasia Parade still gnawed at him.

"The stress from his burns probably isn't helping his recovery."

The S-class wizard's muscles tensed; stray crackles of electricity ran up his arms. Leave it to Natsu to cause trouble.

"It's good you called. We could use your help tracking down Natsu."

Laxus breathed in deep. He _could_ look for the little fire breathing demon- somehow that news didn't take as much mental adjustment to fathom as he expected. He schooled his expression back to his usual stoic scowl.

"No."

Silence ticked by on the other end for several moments. Incredulous and aggravated yelling followed. Laxus straightened.

"We're still at war," he said. "Even if we can't see the enemy, that doesn't change our priorities."

"You've got to be shi"

Laxus terminated the call. He huffed through his nose.

"Is that really all right?"

The youngest Dreyar turned to Freed and the rest of the Raijinshuu. Freed rarely questioned Laxus' judgment, but the lightning dragon slayer understood in this instance.

"You sure you didn't sound a bit paranoid just now?"

Bixlow's 'babies' parroted him on paranoid. Laxus walked by them.

"The whole thing reeks of being a diversion," he said, stepping outside. "If we exhaust ourselves running around, we'll be useless when they attack again."

"Leave it to our Laxus to calmly assess the situation."

Freed's praise went unheeded.

"The best we can do is wait," Laxus said. "If the enemy or Natsu comes to us, we can react. Until then, we conserve manpower and energy."

"What about Natsu," Evergreen asked. Her concern surprised Bixlow. "You're not worried about what might come of him running rampant?"

Laxus turned to look at her. He smirked and chuckled.

"You're joking, aren't you? It's Natsu."

* * *

"This is Phantom Lord all over again! I can't believe Laxus!" Macao shouted.

Mavis listened from a distance with eyes closed, pondering everything in her strategist mind.

"Let him do what he thinks is right," Gildarts said. The ace of Fairy Tail swirled the drink he had in its mug. "We'll do what we can from here."

Mavis swung her feet from the second floor railing where she sat. Zeref never did anything as an accident, barring the negative effects of his curse. It seemed obvious to her that he'd used Natsu to throw Fairy Tail into disarray, but to what end?

"Lisanna," Gildarts said. "You go and find Porlyusica. Bring her back here."

The white-haired take over mage shook her head, nipping at her fingers.

"Master tried to get her to come see Natsu," she said. "She refused to come out until after the war ended."

Mavis furrowed her brow, glaring down at the floor. The guild was already damaged and the members spread far between. If Zeref could make his whole army vanish, why not bring them all here?

"She'll change her mind if she knows Master's condition," Gildarts assured. He stood and placed a hand on Lisanna's shoulder. "Don't worry about your brother. We'll be watching out for him."

The youngest Strauss sibling gave a reluctant nod before running out of the guildhall. Gildarts turned to Warren.

"Any luck finding Natsu on that thing?"

The telepath shook his head in frustration.

"It's like his magic power has changed or something," he said. "I've found several signals that weren't there before, but they could be anybody. No fire dragon slayers."

Gildarts sighed and pinched his nose.

"He ran toward the southeast when I saw him. Keep trying."

Mavis craned her neck up, her thoughts interrupted. She stared toward the ceiling for several seconds before retreating back into her mind. The founder of Fairy Tail could have sworn she'd heard something snicker in the rafters.

* * *

He crouched. More mortals- humans- passed. They came in groups. He sniffed. No magic. He growled and retreated. Last one was too big, almost a predator. He interrupted, but had to run. Still weak. Not sure who name is. Feel been asleep for a long time.

Wait. Stop. New scent. Two. One burns the nose, drink, he thought. The other like his, but different. Demon. Both laced with magic. He licked his fangs and ran toward the water. Saltwater smell near them. He needed more. He hunted.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm back! It's only been a week, but given the update schedule for the other now two bits I'm writing, it feels longer. Hopefully this one didn't take too long for those who've been reading! I also hope that this one's enjoyable, because two of the most BA characters appear, and I had some fun with it, especially the last part! More action types on the way! If you liked this, leave a review! If you didn't, palm down as many keys as you can with one hand and post whatever comes up as a review!

 **Reviews:**

Spaghettikingpapyrus (I would shorten that, but it seemed wrong to do that): I'm glad the tension still feels real! Did I update soon enough for you? Thanks for reading and reviewing!


	7. Hellfire

Disclaimer: It's too late at night for me to tell you I don't own Fairy Tail.

* * *

 **Hellfire**

Zeref paused in the middle of his project- he couldn't recall the exact quantity of ethernano required for his plan. The immortal wizard lifted a hand to sift through the wall of bodies around him. The details could be worked out later.

"You'll do," he mused, pulling a raven-haired soldier from the pile. "Now if I can just remember the recipe for an incubus."

* * *

Cana rubbed at her temple, listening to Mira hum as they entered Hargeon. She gave the take over mage a sideways look.

"How can you be so happy this early?" She asked.

"This is where Natsu and Lucy met," Mira said. She tapped her heels on the cobblestone street. "It's got to be more than coincidence that the fight brought us near here."

The card mage rolled her eyes and gave an internal groan. She hadn't had a drink for a few days. Nonetheless, she humored her friend.

"And what does it mean, Mira?"

Cana didn't get to hear the eldest Strauss sibling's answer before a charcoal hand caught her. The brunette felt the jarring sensation of crashing through several buildings. In a split second, she'd been separated from Mira. Cana only caught a pink blur from between the clawed fingers attached to her face. She ignored the pain of having her back slammed to the pavement.

"Natsu, as much as I condone friendliness," she said, voice muffled. She bent her knees and kicked the dragon slayer's chest with both heels. "This is not how you greet people!"

She rolled over once she'd removed Natsu from her. She stood on unsteady feet, pulling out her cards- whatever caused Natsu to attack her didn't matter, he needed to be contained. She flashed a card dimension card toward the transformed fire mage. A thin tail whipped out from behind him, an arrowhead tip impaling and burning the card. Cana grimaced and set her feet apart, ready in case he lunged again.

 **Prayer's Fountain!**

Cana threw down a pair of cards. A magic circle spread on the ground that shot out numerous tridents of water toward Natsu. The fire mage snarled and leapt back, running on all fours to avoid the attack. Cana predicted his movements and ran to cut him off.

"Sorry about this."

 **Summoned Lightning!**

The holder wizard brought out a card that sent an array of electric bolts straight into the dragon slayer's chest. The pink-haired mage moaned, though a moment later Cana noticed his injuries healing over. Almost like-

 **Satan Soul!**

* * *

Mira flew in her demon form to knock Natsu through a few more buildings with her thick tail.

"We need to be careful," she said. "The town hasn't been evacuated."

The take over mage ignored Cana's commentary on her definition of careful. Mira turned her attention to Natsu's landing point, where a column of white fire erupted into the air. Several screams followed soon after.

"I'll deal with that," Cana said. "But couldn't you shut him up quicker with Sitri?"

Despite the form she had taken, Mira giggled.

"I want to get him to calm down," she said. "Not kill him."

Mira flapped her wings to meet Natsu, who had taken to scampering across rooftops back towards them.

"Natsu," she called from above, weaving around the streams of hellish flame he spat at her. "I know the temptation to wreak havoc as a demon is powerful."

The eldest Strauss sibling swooped down from the air, gripping the altered fire mage by his horns. Natsu flailed and kicked as Mira brought them over the harbor.

"But," she said, voice raised over the turbulence in the air. "You won't forgive yourself when you come to if I let you hurt somebody."

With that, she flung Natsu down into the ocean near the port. She winced a bit in sympathy at the loud impact his body made with the water's surface. She flew down lower, hovering between where he'd gone under and the docks; ready to dive in if he didn't resurface, or toss him back if he moved toward the town in a craze.

Mira gasped at an earsplitting shriek. She watched, stunned, as the water around Natsu receded and rose above him in a solid wall. The pink-haired dragon slayer stood hunched over, screaming as two wings sprouted from his back and shredded the remnants of his vest. The ugly cracking and snapping sounds the new appendages made as they unfolded into their full span disturbed even her. Natsu glowered at her before he charged, the waves that had built up crashing back down in his wake. Mira climbed in altitude, waiting to confirm she was his target. She concentrated her darkness magic in her hands.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said. The dragon slayer's guttural cries told her he wasn't listening.

 **Soul Extinctor!**

A massive wave of dark magic exploded from her hands toward Natsu. The fire mage faltered in his advance; he responded with a swirling vortex of white flame. The two attacks collided, and, to Mira's amazement, cancelled each other out. She covered her face with her arms against the resulting shockwave.

She felt jerk on her hair and yelped. Natsu, behind her, screeched like a banshee and he plummeted downward. The S-class mage swiped at her assailant's hand, but her efforts were hindered by a slow pull on her magic power. She blinked, wondering at the sensation until her head hit the docks. The wood pieces of the structure broke apart against her skull while Natsu dragged her through them.

The take over mage managed to snap her tail around one of Natsu's legs and throw off his flight. She shouted at a searing pain that tore into her left wing. The agony lessened as they crashed onto the deck of a ship. She pulled herself up- a significant part of her wing's membrane had been burned away, rendering the wing useless. She folded both wings in as a way to ease the pain.

Mira's legs lost feeling and might have folded under her if she didn't catch herself. She felt a biting heat around her ankle- Natsu still had a grip on her with his tail. The fire mage couldn't make any other move, she realized, as he sat on his hands and knees on the deck.

"Motion sickness still affects you," she said, part relief and part bemusement in her tone. She swatted Natsu's tail off with her own. The pull on her magic waned. "Good to know."

Before she could act any further, Natsu barfed out more white flame that consumed the ship beneath him in an instant. The mage's immunity to fire kept him from harm, and he flapped his wings to stay off the boat.

 **Darkness Stream!**

Mira produced tendrils of black magic shaped like clawed hands to restrain the dragon slayer. Natsu snarled and strained, beating his wings to stay airborne.

"Natsu, please come to your senses."

The take over mage noticed a beat in Natsu's struggles. The next moment, his resistance vanished, instead barreling into her. The collision pushed them both onto the shore. She felt the drain on her magic return, much more powerful and demanding. She had to work to maintain her Satan Soul.

"Natsu," she rasped, her vision blurring. "Don't put yourself through what Elfman did."

The charcoal fist Natsu had raised overhead lingered there, though flames engulfed it a moment later. Mira thought she heard a faint choked sob amid the growls of the dragon slayer.

"MIRA!"

* * *

He howled as he slammed his fist down. He didn't know why. The demon under him was a target. Right? He shook and fled. No, he flew. He didn't run away. He hunted. New scents pricked at his nose, growing until they flooded his mind. He felt a bit more whole. He couldn't understand how he smelled what he did- the source was too far away. He knew that it should have been impossible. Someone put them there. Why?

Because he needed to wake up. Something... _familiar_ –yes, that was the word- told him that. He ignored the annoying ache in his head, an inflammation not his own. He flew toward the scent of rain, tomes, and iron.

* * *

 **A/N:** ... I got nuthin'. Leave tips when you go out to eat, I guess. If you liked this, leave a review! Otherwise, read another fan fiction and come back to tell me how cool it was in a review box!

 **To Who Reviewed**

The Age of Awesomeness (Awesome!): Thanks for reading and reviewing! So glad you're enjoying it! I'll try to update quick!


	8. Smelted Metal

Disclaimer: The man-child typing this does not own Fairy Tail. He owns only a laptop.

* * *

 **Smelted Metal**

Happy stared at Warren's Magic Radar. The blue Exceed had a spot on the table right next to the telepath's device, laying on all fours and his chin rested on top of Natsu's folded scarf. He didn't blink, didn't think about water, or nature's calling or fish... well.

"Happy."

The magic cat murmured without turning his head.

"Aye."

"Could you please stop staring?"

Happy flicked his tail from side to side.

"I'm looking for Natsu."

"But that's what I'm doing."

"Aye," Happy said, raising a paw out of habit. "And I'm helping."

A beat.

"Er, no," Warren said. "You're actually kind of distracting me."

Happy's eyes darted once to Warren's face before returning to the radar.

"You should concentrate then," he said in a flat tone. "We'll find him faster."

"Argh! That's my point, I can't"

Happy's ear twitched.

"Warren," he said, ignoring the telepath's outburst. He pointed with a digit of his paw. "What's that dot there? The one near Mira and Cana?"

Happy turned to watch Warren's reaction. The mage looked at where the cat indicated on the radar. A hand slamming down near him shook the table.

"What's that about Cana-chan?"

Warren's face drained of color and he began sweating at Gildarts' sudden closeness. Happy didn't pay any mind to the crash mage's intensity- one of the perks of being a cat. Warren gulped.

"I-I'm not sure," he said, finger shaking as he gestured to the radar. "But it looks like something attacked Mira and Cana."

Happy made a preemptive leap away from the table with Natsu's scarf in tow.

"And it might have been Natsu."

The table creaked for a moment before it vanished into oblivion from Gildarts' magic. Happy watched Warren snatch the radar to tuck and roll out of destruction's path. The crash mage opened his mouth to speak, but the guildhall entrance slamming open interrupted him. Porlyusica began barking demands the second she stepped inside.

"Where is that old fool? Who's in charge here?"

Gildarts raised his prosthetic hand in greeting. Fairy Tail's medical advisor shouted at him.

"Take me to the infirmary!"

Even Fairy Tail's ace stumbled over words against the older woman.

"A-aye."

Happy tried sneaking to the open door unnoticed. He had a little bit of his magic back, and he wanted to find Natsu. The Exceed knew his foster father would come back if he could just see him. A hand gripped Happy by the scruff of his neck, though careful to avoid his injuries.

"And what are you doing wandering around with those burns," Porlyusica asked without really asking. "Bed rest for you- now!"

Happy held no power against the old mage. He resigned himself to his fate, hoping that Natsu would be okay for a while longer.

* * *

Zeref took a step back to absorb his progress. The second project required much more effort, but for good reason, he noted. The immortal wizard couldn't remember the last time he'd been bored, but he knew he wouldn't tolerate such a state with much grace. He almost chuckled at the thought- it reminded him of his brother's disposition. He turned from one self-appointed assignment to regard the other.

"No, no," he said, rearranging facial features with a flip of his wrist. The dark mage struggled with names, but faces remained implanted well in his memory. "You can't seduce the water girl without those sad eyes."

* * *

Juvia sneezed.

"Are you cold, Juvia?"

The rain woman smiled at Levy.

"No, Juvia's body regulates temperature very well," she said. "Someone must be talking about Juvia in Juvia's absence." Heat stung her cheeks and she wiggled her thighs. "Juvia hopes it was Gray-sama."

Before she could delve into one of her many fantasies about her dear ice mage, a large hand clamped on her shoulder.

"Oi," Gajeel whispered, red eyes narrowed at something she couldn't see. "You hear that?"

Juvia listened to the mid-morning scene. Other than Jet and Droy snoring, she heard nothing. She relayed as much to Gajeel. The pierced mage pushed past her, hunching down near the cliff edge.

"Gajeel," Levy said. The solid script mage paced up behind the dragon slayer. "What's"

"Lily," Gajeel said, not turning around. "With me."

The iron mage glanced over his shoulder at Juvia and Levy.

"Wake those two idiots up and wait here." He hissed.

Juvia nodded, more out of courtesy than actual necessity; Gajeel had already jumped over the cliff side. The water mage took no offense at his lack of delicacy; she'd known him too long.

* * *

Gajeel flipped and skid his way down the face of the cliff. He knew he'd heard something, but given the ominous silence that had taken over the town after the soldiers vanished, that didn't make sense. He told Lily to watch from overhead.

The dragon slayer ghosted into the town, following what sounded like someone chortling. A small, grinning figure dashed across his path and into an abandoned church.

"Oi!"

The iron mage gave chase. He didn't sense magic power from whatever had giggled at him, or at least not enough to cause him trouble. A sense of foreboding had been lurking over Gajeel's head for a while, and he couldn't place the source of it. Not knowing gnawed at his limited patience. Gajeel paused a moment at the sound of an outcry; recognizing Droy's voice, he ignored it in favor of tracking down the critter. He didn't feel like babysitting.

A draft came in through a stained glass window as the wind shifted. Two scents rode in on the breeze- a demon, and another that confused him.

"Salamander?"

He forgot whatever he'd been looking for. He broke through the glass of the window to get out. The origin of the smell came from where he'd left Levy and Juvia.

"Lily," he called, his partner swooping down from the air. "Take us up!"

The black Exceed whisked the iron mage into the sky with him, flying back toward the cliff side. From his position, Gajeel noticed the two idiots were up, though Droy looked like he'd been hit. Juvia and Levy were near the edge where he'd left them. Between the four mages a winged demon hovered just over the ground, flexing talons instead of feet. Gajeel only recognized Salamander from his hair and the red Fairy Tail mark on his shoulder.

 **Solid Script: Fire!**

"No, you idiot!"

Before Levy could stop, the word 'Fire' materialized and flew toward the transformed dragon slayer. Salamander opened his mouth and devoured the flame. Gajeel grimaced, ordering Lily to drop him. Levy stammered an apology.

"I'm sorry! I just said the first thing that came to mind!"

Salamander shot forward to close the distance between him and the script mage before he could blink. A clawed hand caught Levy by her head. Jet and Droy both screamed.

"Levy-chan!"

Gajeel couldn't attack from midair without hitting Levy. He yelled at Juvia- ground would greet him in a few more seconds.

"Cut off his air!"

The rain woman muttered a hasty spell, and an orb of water engulfed Salamander's head. He gurgled and jerked his neck around, but he kept his grip on Levy. Gajeel's feet touched earth.

 **Iron Dragon's Club!**

Gajeel changed his arm into an iron pole, bashing it into Salamander's face. He pushed forward to knock the fire wizard back.

"Piss off!"

Finally Levy was freed. Gajeel rushed up and caught her around the waist. He swore under his breath; he knew the symptoms of magic deficiency disease. He yelled at Lily, who'd taken on his battle form.

"Take her outta here," he said, tossing the blue-haired wizard to his partner. "Get back to the guild! Anywhere that ain't here!"

The dragon slayer didn't have time to strike again or field any complaints from Lily before Salamander barreled into him. Both slayers flew past Juvia and over the cliff edge. Gajeel wrestled in his opponent's grip, feeling magic power drain from his body.

 **Iron Shadow Dragon Mode!**

His body encased by metallic armor and doused in black shadows, Gajeel brought his hands together and transformed them into a single blade.

 **Iron Shadow Dragon's Claw!**

He dug the blade down into Salamander's back, eliciting a cry of pain. The arms around him slackened enough for him to push out of his grasp. Gajeel had no intention of restraining himself against the fire mage- Salamander hadn't just lost control; he was under somebody else's influence. Gajeel knew how difficult it could be to reach someone blind to anything except orders.

Though he'd never admit it to anyone, he owed Salamander for beating reason into him. The iron mage planned on returning the favor.

His opponent swerved, a flaming hand aiming to swipe at him.

 **Knuckle Plant!**

From below, a vined plant shot upwards and separated Gajeel from Salamander. The black-haired dragon slayer landed on one of the rooftops, his shadowed armor lost due to weakened magic. Droy's plants moved to contain the snarling fire wizard.

"Gajeel-kun," Juvia said, morphing into shape out of her water form. "Are you all right?"

"Fine," he said, wincing when he moved. The landing had affected him more than it would have had his armor not left him. "Forget that. Salamander ain't gonna sit still in that thing. I got a plan. You make it rain and tell Jet to draw his attention. The other moron and you wait for my signal."

Gajeel appreciated that the water mage didn't ask any dumb questions. She pooled back into a puddle and flowed over the cobblestone streets. Clouds gathered out of nowhere and rain began to fall. The dragon slayer ducked inside one of the taller buildings as Salamander burned out of Droy's magic.

"Yo, Natsu!" He heard Jet yell outside. "I got a few words for you about L"

Salamander cut the speeding redhead short with a blast of white fire. The blaze seemed almost unaffected by the downpour that pelted the rooftops. Gajeel crouched in place and waited; he hoped the rain would mess with Salamander's nose and let the others catch him by surprise. He tracked Jet's movements as he avoided Salamander's flames, his muscles tense and ready to pounce. Jet flashed by a couple streets ahead.

"Now!" Gajeel shouted.

He leapt from the third story of the building, falling down where Juvia waited.

 **Water Geyser!**

An eruption of high-pressure water came up at him like a cannon blast and sent him higher, arching toward his target.

 **Knuckle Plant!**

Again, huge vines broke into the skyline. The iron mage latched onto them and hauled ass up. Gajeel heard Salamander swoop down.

"C'mon, you bastard," he said. "Come after me."

A bright flicker showed through the thick darkness of the rain. Salamander raked at the plant's base with a fiery talon. A loud crack and groan preceded the vine lurching forward. Gajeel cursed; he'd get one shot.

Marking Salamander's path, he ran along the collapsing plant. Once he had outpaced the flying fire mage, he vaulted off and fell down above him.

 **Iron Dragon's Roar!**

Gajeel blasted Salamander's back and wings with a raging maelstrom of shrapnel. The iron bits embedded themselves in charcoal skin and the membrane of his wings. The fire mage shrieked, losing his balance and spiraled down into the cement. The iron dragon slayer landed near him. He had just enough time to breathe before Salamander emerged snarling from the crater he'd made. Blood leaked through his wings.

"Demon or not, that'll take a bit to heal," he said. He noticed that Salamander hadn't moved from his spot and he remembered his talons. "So yer grounded here wit' me."

 **Iron Dragon Scales!**

A pattern of metallic scales covered Gajeel's body. The dragon slayer paced toward Salamander, cracking his knuckles.

"Now," he said, ignoring that the height advantage he had over the fire mage had been eliminated by his transformation. "Gonna tell me what the hell's going on, or"

Salamander growled and slammed a charcoal fist into Gajeel's face. The dragon slayer staggered back, but smirked.

"Gihi," he chuckled, swinging back at his opponent and catching his jaw. "Good."

Gajeel boxed back and forth with the pink-haired wizard, parrying punches with his iron forearms. Even with such brief contact exchanged, his proximity to the fire mage seemed to eat away his magic power. The lower his reserves sank, the quicker they drained; regardless, he persisted. The warrior in him took some sort of satisfaction from the rematch between the two of them.

Until both landed simultaneous blows to the jaw, thunderous crack resounding from the strength behind each of them. The fight had been about even up till Salamander swept his new tail at Gajeel's legs with his damning fire. The iron dragon slayer hissed and cringed, a high whine coming from the metal around his legs as the scales melted from the extreme heat. He felt the tension in the iron resist any movement in his legs. Reminded of the stakes and running out of magic, Gajeel wove his head to the side of another punch, using his shoulder to knock the arm aside.

 **Iron Dragon's Hard Fist!**

He focused his magic into the metal of his right hand, smashing it into Salamander's chest. The altered mage went flying, skidding over the top of wooden fences and through street lamps. Gajeel sucked in a deep breath and bellowed.

"WAKE UP, SALAMANDER!"

 **Karma Demon: Iron God Sword!**

Gajeel used the remainder of his power to transform his arm into a massive iron blade. He brought it crashing down on top of Salamander, destroying whatever buildings stood behind his target in the process. He huffed and panted. He winced in pain, the welded metal of his legs cracking before he relinquished his scales.

A roar from the wreckage called him out of any peace of mind he may have wanted. Salamander, despite sporting a large gash down his left shoulder, flew out of the rain toward the dragon slayer. White fire flared in his mouth. The iron mage swayed, trying to move. His knees buckled and hit pavement as reward for the effort.

"Dammit."

Right before the fireball reached him, a pair of hands hoisted him by his shoulders and yanked him out of harm's way. At the same time, an explosion of water swept up Salamander from his side. The fire mage disappeared, blasting through a few buildings before Gajeel lost sight of him. Weary, he glanced up to see Jet's brow furrowed in what, to his surprise and embarrassment, could only be worry.

"You okay?"

Gajeel found himself speechless for a moment before grunting.

"Yeah," he said, wrenching his arms free. He struggled to stand, but refused any help. He looked away and muttered. "Thanks."

Juvia came running out of the ruins of the apartment building she'd wrecked to hit Salamander. The water mage had Droy in her wake. Gajeel tuned out her voice, listening through his fatigue for Salamander. He grit his teeth at the sound of wings flapping away from them.

"You can let up the rain," he said. Juvia tilted her head even as the downpour ceased. "He ain't comin' back."

The dragon slayer would have smashed the nearest brick wall were he not so exhausted.

* * *

END- he knew his name again- flew out of the storm. The one who smelled of iron and hit hard had been strong. Not as strong as the other demon, but his power felt old. A tingling from his fresh wound told him that it was also familiar.

He growled and wavered in flight, clutching and shaking his head. The little woman, the prey that smelled of tomes and paper- her magic had made his headache much worse. The inflammation that wasn't of his design threatened to split his skull. He hovered in the air, covering his eyes until the discomfort ebbed.

He didn't ponder on the rain bringer. Just the thought of her called an image to mind that agitated him, even though he couldn't see it clearly.

It didn't matter. The familiar voice had given him new scents. One he recognized as steel, while the other he couldn't name; nonetheless, it made his hair bristle. Something about the second scent... _unnerved_ him, because END didn't know fear, only caution.

But he would hunt the source down anyway, because Nii-san was asking.

* * *

 **A/N:** Ah, SNAP! Getting a bit more intense!

This one was really fun to write, in large part because I love Gajeel as a character! He's got a lot of baggage and stuff going on that isn't delved into despite being one of the more popular characters. I digress!

If you enjoyed reading this, leave a review about it! If not, tell me what your ideal pet would be in the review box!

 **Reply to Reviews (Imagine a deep ominous movie trailer voice for this, because I know I am):**

IndigoWolfie: Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! I hope this one is also to your liking!

The Age of Awesomeness (I still like that one): Thank you very much for reading and reviewing! I hope I updated soon enough and that this is as good as the last one! I'll keep churning out all I can!


	9. Freezer Burn

Disclaimer: If I owned Fairy Tail, would I still be concerning myself with a CLA education? ... Well, yeah, I would, but I don't.

* * *

 **Freezer Burn**

Gildarts took another swig from the bottle of rum he'd nabbed from the kitchen. He stood outside the infirmary door, closed and undisturbed as per Porlyusica's orders. He glanced down the hall; he thought he saw a tiny, pointed tail retreat around the corner. He shrugged and strolled over to the railing of the guild's second floor.

"How are you doing, Cannie-chan?"

Gildarts cooed at his daughter. The card mage had taken over Warren's duty with the Magic Radar. Cana groaned while Gildarts hopped over the railing down to the first floor.

"Don't go giving me weird names, old man."

The crash mage strode up to his daughter and got in her face, his mouth agape in mock surprise. He chuckled when Cana shoved him.

"But," he said, sitting next to her. "It's a papa's job to embarrass his baby girl."

Gildarts earned a sideways glare for his comment. Cana rolled her eyes.

"You'd need to try much harder to embarrass me," she said. "And everyone's asleep anyway."

Gildarts looked around at his junior guild mates who lay on the floor and slumped in chairs. He'd enforced a mandatory break period for those who'd been up all night a few hours prior, after Cana had come back to the guild.

"Oh," he said, allowing a playful smirk onto his face. "You'd prefer an audience when I coddle you?"

Cana slapped him upside the head, though the motion held little force behind it and originated from exasperation rather than outrage.

"Be serious for once, you dork."

Gildarts' smirk waned into a sympathetic smile. He knew Cana had been shaken worse by her run in with Natsu than she let on. She hadn't even asked for a drink since she'd returned. He slid his bottle over to her.

"Take a sip," he said. "Should calm your nerves."

Cana blinked and looked at him in earnest. The briefest glimmer of emotion glinted in her eye before she twisted her face into an expression of disgust.

"You've been drinking out of that," she said, pushing the rum back to him. "Not on your life."

Gildarts gasped in a faux display of hurt. He nudged her shoulder.

"Guess I should be glad," he said. "My daughter knows not to take others' drinks."

"I'll take those drinks," she said. "Just not from strange old men."

"You're so mean, Cana-chan."

Nonetheless, Gildarts smiled a bit. He would've teased some more in hopes of helping Cana relax, but the padding footsteps upstairs required his attention.

"Not everyone is asleep," he murmured. He raised his voice to call up. "Happy."

Gildarts heard the blue Exceed start replying with an involuntary 'Aye' before he squeaked. The crash mage sighed.

"Don't worry," he said. "You're not in trouble."

After a few beats, the cat fluttered down from above on his wings, Natsu's scarf in his paws. Happy looked up at Gildarts.

"Cana," he said. "Do you know where Natsu is now?"

Gildarts' prosthetic hand clenched at the mild shiver from his daughter's shoulders.

"Looks like he's headed toward mountains southwest of here," she said, her voice even.

"That's why you're sneaking out, isn't it?"

The crash mage aimed his question at Happy. The Exceed nodded.

"Aye."

Gildarts lifted his one flesh hand from the table and plopped it over Happy's head. He stared into the cat's wide eyes.

"You find him," he said. "And you bring him home, understand?"

Happy's eyes burned with determination, and he puffed out his tiny chest. Gildarts gestured to Makarov's office.

"Use the way I came in," he said. "In case Porlyusica comes back soon."

"Aye sir!"

The little Exceed shot out of sight at high speed on his wings. Gildarts watched him go.

"Does it look like he's moving toward anyone?" He asked without looking at Cana.

"Right now," she said. "Looks like Erza, if anyone."

The crash mage's attempts at further lighthearted banter died as he grimaced. He gripped the rum with his good hand and raised the end high over his brow. He drank in agitated gulps.

The kids he'd watched come into their own as wizards were getting hurt. Worse than that, being attacked by a man Gildarts regarded as the son he'd never had. The fact that Natsu acted under someone else's manipulation rubbed salt over everything. The ace of Fairy Tail slammed his bottle down on the table. His grip on its neck caused a crack in the glass. He glared at the opposing wall.

"Don't break anything else," Cana said in a gentle, chiding tone. Gildarts felt a hand on his shoulder. "Master's likely to have an aneurysm otherwise."

The crash mage closed his eyes, realizing his momentary lapse into fury had caused his magic to swell. The foundations of the building groaned under the pressure. He clenched his jaw and sighed, exercising a drastic degree of restraint. The guildhall settled again. Gildarts pulled another smile from somewhere in himself and chuckled with any mirth he could manage.

"Right, right. My bad."

* * *

"You've _got_ to be kidding!"

Lucy yelled in exasperation. She'd ridden into yet another town with the trains out of commission. The spirit mage had found one near her starting point the previous night, but that had only gotten her so far. She'd anticipated that she'd need to switch trains to get closer to Magnolia, but she'd been trying without success since that morning.

The celestial spirit mage wiped sweat from her palms on her horse's mane. Something had been disrupting her magic power since yesterday. She wasn't tired, she'd slept on the train, and it hadn't affected her strength, but she had a discomforting queasiness that refused to settle.

A blue blur streaked toward her, high overhead. Thankful for the distraction, she focused on it. She shouted when she recognized it.

"Happy!"

The small figure faltered in flight. A moment later, to Lucy's horror, Happy began plummeting downward in shaky, broken spirals.

"Happy!" She cried again, urging her horse forward to catch the blue Exceed. He had Natsu's scarf clutched in his paws.

"Lucy," he murmured in a raspy voice. He gasped for shallow breaths. "Gotta find him."

Lucy held her hand to Happy's forehead. Worrying warmth singed her palm. His wings had vanished, and despite his temperature, his small form convulsed with violent shivers. The blond mage wrapped an arm around him.

"Happy," she said. "What's"

A buck from her horse cut her short. The celestial spirit mage tried to calm the creature before an overwhelming heat demanded her attention.

Lucy looked up and on instinct dismounted with one hand over her keys; a demon of some sort, body surrounded by white flames, stood staring at her. She pulled her keys out. Happy squirmed in her other arm.

"Natsu."

"Eh?"

Lucy looked from the Exceed to the demon that lifted its head back when she pointed a key at it. She noticed the dark pink hair that reached down to its shoulders. Keeping her key steady, she glanced at its right shoulder. A familiar red Fairy Tail guild mark greeted her unbelieving eyes.

"Natsu?" She whispered.

The transformed fire mage cocked his horned head. His lips pulled back and his mouth moved as if sampling the sound Lucy made. The celestial spirit mage saw that his already pronounced canines had grown into full fangs. She couldn't help hesitating to lower her outstretched arm. This had been Natsu?

Any words the blond may have said evaporated on the tip of her tongue as Natsu crept closer. The heat from the constant flames made her body scream at her to retreat, but she stood paralyzed on the spot. Natsu inclined his head toward Happy, who still mumbled incoherencies. The altered dragon slayer sniffed at him, leaning forward.

Fear that the fire might reach the blue cat seized Lucy, and she flinched. In an instant, Natsu made a sound somewhere between a snarl and a yelp. A clawed hand enshrouded in demon fire snapped up to grab her. The split second before it made contact, Lucy saw familiar red and orange flames flare around Natsu's left arm and hand.

She gasped and whimpered when strong fingers wrapped around her throat and lifted her into the air. The pressure crushed her airway, but only lasted a moment. Natsu gave a high-pitched, staccato whine and dropped her. The fire mage howled and backed away several paces. Lucy massaged her neck with her free hand.

She realized she hadn't been burned. She knew she'd have a bruise later, but her skin had been left intact. Natsu clutched his head and growled. Lucy saw that the hand he'd choked her with, while still charcoal like the rest of him, had lost its claws. The white fire around it had retreated too, though it began crawling out again.

"Natsu," she said, voice weak. The fire mage glared at her, hands still clamped on his head. But Lucy saw tears leaking out of wide eyes despite his harsh expression. Snapping his wings open, he propelled back into the air toward the forest between her and the mountain peaks on the horizon.

Lucy sat for a moment. Remembering Happy, she wrapped Natsu's scarf around the still shaking Exceed. Her horse had fled, leaving her in the midst of an abandoned town. She looked back at Natsu's retreating figure and steeled her nerves. She sprinted after him.

* * *

Erza pondered what to do with the imp-like demon she'd skewered moments before. The redhead had parted from Gray a while ago to cover more ground. Upon spotting a small, chortling, horned creature monitoring her, she'd acted.

The little beast did seem to belong to Zeref's collection, but what did it mean? Erza couldn't decide if the incident warranted rendezvousing with Gray or not. The S-class mage's thoughts came an abrupt halt at the sense of an approaching attack.

 **Requip: Heaven's Wheel Armor!**

Erza summoned a few dozen swords and sent them flying overhead without pausing to regard her target. She aimed for the origin of the malicious intent she felt. A flying, burning monster came diving down straight for her. To her surprise, it made no effort to avoid her blades; many left deep incisions, but her opponent barreled ahead regardless. White flames rained down. She leapt out of the way as the creature crashed, talons first, into the rocky ground of the mountain pass.

Only for the briefest moment did Erza get to see her attacker before he lunged. The pink hair gave Natsu away. Erza didn't have time to speak, using her blades to parry the dragon slayer's wild swipes. The redhead noticed that none of the wounds lining his limbs seemed to slow him down.

Erza flipped one sword and snapped her wrist down to catch Natsu's horns with the blade, using the other to swing at the Tartaros mark on his chest.

The demonized fire mage's snarl grew more aggressive. He unhinged his jaw and a spiraling vortex of hellish fire erupted from his throat.

 **Requip: Flame Empress Armor!**

Erza changed into the fire retardant plating just as the maelstrom of flame bore down on her. Despite the protection of the armor, heat still sank hungry teeth into her skin. She twirled her flame sword in a rapid circle to redirect and dispel the blaze. Natsu's open hand greeted her. She leaned back, though his claws still caught her forehead. A gash ran over her right eye, and blood leaked down into her vision, forcing it shut.

Natsu pressed on, more insistent than Erza had ever seen him. His tail flicked up and snagged around her wrist, the spiked end digging into her skin. The requip wizard cringed, using her sword to block the talons Natsu brought up to strike at her face. She jerked her hand back, pulling at his tail and catching him off balance. Ignoring the searing pain from the heat of the shroud of flames surrounding him, she changed into her red hakama and summoned her twin katana. Erza used the momentary advantage to sink a sword into the membrane of one of Natsu's wings; again, the fire mage whined a bit, but didn't hesitate in righting himself, even though doing so caused more tear to the wing than Erza had intended.

"Natsu," she said in the split second before the dragon slayer slammed a flaming fist into her exposed gut. She winced at the heat, but knocked him away with a quick kick to the jaw, careful to avoid letting the fire consume her foot.

Natsu crashed into the mountainside, shaking the foundation of a rock wall. Erza watched him stand, his movements uncertain. He raked at his head with his claws, whipping his body around. It reminded Erza of watching Jellal succumb to madness, and her throat ran dry.

"Does it hurt?"

At the sound of her voice, the dragon slayer gave a strained, choked outcry. He raised both his hands over his head and slashed them down crossways. Twin sheets of flame shot toward her. Erza focused her magic into one sword, setting her feet in a wide stance.

 **Demon Blade Crimson Sakura!**

A mighty aura of pink magic surrounded the blade. She swung it down to meet the hellfire. Her magic broke through it and kept going into the mountainside. Powerful tremors preceded the start of a rockslide.

"Natsu!" She called, searching for the fire mage even as she ran to avoid the crumbling debris and huge boulders. In the midst of the mountain's groan, she heard wings flapping. Erza noticed then that a significant portion of her magic had been drained.

She swore, slicing through the waves of rock crashing over her.

* * *

Gray trudged at a decent clip up the mountain. He needn't have hiked up to the snowy peaks, but the lower temperature calmed his aggravation in ways only cold could.

An interruption to the devil slayer's diversion from his stress came in the form of something smashing into the snow nearby. Whatever it was vanished under the white powder with a cushioned impact. Gray stopped, his demon mark reacting on its own.

Tension came right back to him as he debated readying a preemptive counterattack. If Erza had come to check in, he'd deal with worse consequences for having a weapon trained on her. The alternative, being assaulted by something he couldn't see without any means of defense handy, convinced him to do it anyway.

Before he could forge anything with his ice, the snow under him exploded up in a shower of flakes and clumps. A demon with slanted eyes- Natsu- appeared wreathed in white flames and snarled at him. A pair of clawed hands swung toward him.

Gray's shirt got shredded while the raven-haired wizard thanked his stripping habit for still having his torso intact.

 **Ice Make: Prison!**

Gray created a multi-layered cage of ice around Natsu. Flames began melting the cage right away, but he'd bought a few seconds.

"I'm still pissed at you, you know," Gray said. "Who told you to go all E.N.D. on us?"

Natsu glared at Gray with something the ice mage couldn't name in his eyes. The dragon slayer cried out as the flames around him flared. The white blaze shifted into the form of a serpent, snaking through and liquefying the ice cage. It slithered forward in a flash and snapped at Gray. The devil slayer's demon mark glowed and his anti-demon ice shot out, freezing the flames.

 **Ice Devil's Zeroth Long Sword!**

Before he could think about it, Gray summoned his blade and charged Natsu. The sword sunk into the demonized fire mage's side. The sight of the wound and the blood made Gray forget his ire for a moment. Shock replaced it when Natsu deepened the wound by pushing his body forward against the blade.

"What the hell are you doing?" Gray shouted, pulling the sword back out.

Natsu sank to one knee in the snow. He hissed in low, ragged breaths. Gray shuddered and caught Natsu's eyes again. He recognized what they held, and the act of breathing lost priority for a few moments.

Cold, bleak resignation pooled in the fire mage's gaze.

Seeing that made the ice mage's blood boil.

Gray's hands trembled as they clenched into fists.

"You're giving up," he said. "You want me to end things for you, is that it?"

Natsu's head moved in shaky convulsions, and he growled. Gray felt his devil slayer magic demanding release.

"Fine," he said, raising the blade with one hand. "Since you want it that bad."

He grit his teeth until his jaw ached. He tightened his grip on the sword.

And with his other fist, he forced Natsu to his feet with a low uppercut.

"LIKE HELL, DUMBASS!"

Natsu garbled in surprise, but Gray didn't give him a chance to respond. He dropped the sword and pounded his other fist against the fire mage's face. Again, and again, even after the demonic veil of flame renewed around Natsu's body, Gray just covered his hands in ice to compensate. He grunted louder with each blow until he was yelling.

With one last thwack, he stopped. The ice mage's fists were sore and his knuckles reddened with blood, both his own and Natsu's. More than a few charring scars also decorated them.

"Huh," he said, muttering. "Your flames were hotter than this."

The devil slayer glared at Natsu, who stood with a flurry of emotions in his expression.

"We all went to the trouble of getting your book away from Zeref," Gray said. "Because none of us wanted you to die. Whatever else happens, that won't change."

Gray turned his back on Natsu, but didn't walk away.

"I know you weren't in prime condition at the time," he said. "But did you really not hear any of our feelings?"

A beat passed before an earsplitting scream sounded behind Gray. He refused to turn around; as often as he fought with him, despite his stupidity, he trusted Natsu.

* * *

END screamed. The burn behind his eyes had been furious since he'd seen the girl with the golden aura. The headache spurned him to act with greater urgency and agitation than he did with any other prey.

Except the inferno in his skull drove him back from the red warrior before he could finish the hunt. Now he dug into his head with his claws, trying to pry the source of his agony out of him.

The burn spread throughout his body, and he stomped his talons down into the soft stuff under him. He screeched, pleading that the hurtful fire would leave.

He heard something crack, and the comforting demonic flare that protected him splintered. Another kind of fire poured out through fractures in his skin. The red fire wrestled with the white, erupting out in streams that multiplied and split his body open. He shrieked.

* * *

Natsu yelled. His dragon slayer flames swirled around him. Pieces of something like a second skin tapered off him and disintegrated in his blaze.

The pink-haired mage panted, vision blurred. He swayed on his feet. His throat felt dry. His sandals were gone, and his vest had disappeared. He held his arms out to steady himself. The fire wizard felt a vague sensation of his foothold rumbling and shifting.

"Took you long enough, sulfur sucker."

Without needing to think, Natsu retorted with all the bite he could toward the familiar voice.

"Shaddup, Popsicle pervert."

Then the ground did move. His feet were swept out from under him. He began falling.

* * *

Zeref tossed aside dozens of bodies with each stroke of his hand as he searched through the surrounding piles. Sensing something had changed, he paused. He brushed a stray hair out of his face.

"Seems some development has occurred with my brother that I didn't anticipate."

The immortal dark mage mused for just a moment before returning to his frantic digging.

"It seems my timeline may have been off a few hours," he said. "That monster my little spy noticed in the guildhall must be addressed first though."

Finding what he sought, Zeref pulled out a body with a gaping hole in most of its torso.

"Let's begin, then, God Serena."

* * *

 **A/N:** May I be real for a minute? Kids- don't drink until you're 21. Or 18, depending where you live. 21-year-olds, don't drink like Gildarts. He's not a typical human. Be responsible. This PSA brought you by a nerdy man-child Shadic.

Now then! This is the point in the story where we'll be transitioning a bit from fairly high action into something else. I'm looking forward to delving into it! The content of this chapter was largely something I had in mind since I first imagined the seeds that turned into this story. Ah, to live back in the time of a few weeks ago again!

Finals and such are coming up for me, so the next update might not be on the same track as these have usually been. I beseech ye, wonderful readers, grant me your patience!

If you enjoyed reading this, leave behind a review! If you didn't, leave me your thoughts about the philosophy of Plato under the guise of a review!

 **To They Who Reviewed:**

The Age of Awesomeness: Oh, sweet! I'm glad my updates have come at a timely enough interval for ye! Thank you very much for continuing to read the story! Hope this new installment measures up!

IndigoWolfie: E.N.D. is dedicated to his Nii-san. ... For now! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

Si-chanwantdragon (Shadic wants one too): Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! Hm. I hadn't thought of it like that, but now I have more ideas! Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy it. No, you aren't imagining things. Lucy's right here! I hope you enjoy this new installment!


	10. Anxious Heat

Disclaimer: Even with all of the five extra days I took with this one, I still haven't gotten the rights to Fairy Tail nor do I own even one of the less popular characters.

* * *

 **Anxious Heat  
**

Gray should have known that a fight with a fire demon could cause an avalanche. He ought to have anticipated that he or Natsu might get swept down the mountain.

Still, he'd been a bit preoccupied getting a point across to a dense idiot. The ice mage had protected himself with his magic during the snow slide. A few minutes of tossing taunts toward Natsu with no response told him his rival hadn't been as fortunate.

It didn't matter. As weird as it felt, Gray had learned that his devil slayer magic let him pick out the smell of demon with extreme accuracy. Since Natsu had awakened his demon form, his scent had caught his attention. He'd find the fire mage and kick his ass out of whatever trouble he might end up in.

At least, Gray intended to tell Erza as much if the redhead found Gray first. Thinking of the consequences if she didn't approve of his explanation, the ice mage quickened his pace, tramping through the snow.

* * *

"Zeref!"

Natsu woke up gasping for air and arms ablaze. The fire wizard felt something shift and land on his shoulder. He lashed out with flames in a wide arc. Liquid pooled around his feet. He blinked a few times before he registered his surroundings. He'd been buried in snow, and the puddle came from an instantaneous melting process.

The dragon slayer had woken in a cold sweat, his nerves still on edge from a dream. He already had trouble pulling anything about the nightmare back to his mind.

Natsu felt his exhaustion crash over him as he calmed down. He couldn't remember how he'd ended up on a mountainside. He reached up with his left arm to scratch his head.

Pain shot through his side and he hissed. The fire mage glanced down and saw a gash bleeding over his hip.

"Damn."

Natsu skirted his hand across the wound. Crusted flecks fell from the edges when he touched it, and fresh blood coated his hand. He started down the mountain, favoring his left side, to look for water.

He wondered where his vest and sandals had gone.

"That stripper pervert better not be playin' pranks," he said. Mortification that sad snowman's habit might have rubbed off on him caused Natsu to lose track of his footing for a moment. Rocks shifted and slipped under his feet.

The fire dragon slayer fell and grunted with each bump against stone and dirt on the way down. He cried out when he came to a halt by means of collision with a tree. He groaned, rubbing the back of his head.

"Stupid snow queen."

Natsu felt a little less perturbed by his long tumble if he could blame his rival. He grit his teeth and pushed onto his feet.

Snap.

A tree branch cracked under the pressure of his weight. An image from his nightmare flashed across his mind's eye. The fire mage brought a hand up to his neck to feel the comforting fabric of his scarf.

Natsu's fingers touched skin instead. He realized his precious muffler had been one of the clothing articles missing when he woke up.

He shook his head.

"Just a stupid dream," he told himself. Natsu focused on his injury as a distraction and wandered into the forest. Tall firs towered overhead. A vast network of branches formed a canopy and blocked out the waning sunlight and left him in the shadows. The image gnawed at him with greater aggression. His stomach churned a little. He almost missed the sound of running water in his confused unease.

The fire dragon slayer followed a creek to a small pond. He knelt down by the water's edge and splashed some of the liquid over his injury. Fresh blood brightened a shade with the water and leaked down his hip. He maintained a steady flow to bleed the cut as clean as he could. After he finished, he focused his fire magic into his fingertips to cauterize it.

Natsu glanced at the still water and saw his reflection. He squinted at it; something didn't look right.

The fire mage's hands faltered over his wound. He stared hard at the mirror image.

The Tartaros guild mark was on his chest. It didn't have any color to it, but even after trying to blink it away, he could see the mark outlined.

Natsu growled. He lifted a fiery fist overhead.

A breeze ran through the branches and shifted them. Moonlight filtered through an opening in the canopy. The snowy mountains showed behind him in the water. The white peaks caught the moonlight such that it created a wavy halo around the mirror image of his head. A trick of the light changed the color of his fire magic.

Natsu almost choked on air at the momentary image. It changed back to his face and his flames in the next second. Another disturbing piece of his nightmare played out in his mind. One word echoed in his head to describe his reflection-

Demon.

"Shut up!" He shouted.

Natsu smashed his fist down through the water and into the soft dirt below its surface. Flames flared up from the impact point and steam erupted in a sizzling mist. The pink-haired dragon slayer's breathing grew shallow and harried until he forgot how to breathe.

"Natsu?"

The fire mage's head snapped up at the familiar voice.

"Lucy," he murmured. He got up to move toward her scent, but hesitated. He clenched his hands into fists and ran toward her before he could think about it too much.

"Luce?"

The celestial spirit mage turned toward him and he stopped dead. His nerves went numb once he saw the bruise on her neck.

One more memory of his nightmare appeared at the forefront of his mind; his own hand clasped around his partner's throat.

Natsu shivered. He staggered away from Lucy and his vision went hazy. A violent storm brewed in his stomach. The fire mage fell backward to the ground. He twisted his neck around and retched.

* * *

Lucy needed a moment to recover; her emotional state shifted from immense relief to jarring concern in less than two seconds.

Natsu groaned and retched again. Lucy's nose twitched at the smell.

"Natsu," she said. "Are you"

Lucy flinched at how fast Natsu's head whipped around. She couldn't discern all the feelings swirling around in his eyes. She wouldn't have believed it if she didn't see it, but he looked scared.

"What's wrong?"

The dragon slayer didn't say anything. Lucy stepped toward him; he scrambled backwards on his hands and feet, shaking his head. The celestial spirit mage couldn't help feeling a little hurt.

"Natsu," she said again. She softened her tone, trying to coax him. "What's wrong?"

The fire mage mumbled something and fidgeted with his hands. Lucy watched him try to stand. His legs shook with the effort. She raised her voice when she noticed him picking at a long scabbing scar on his side.

"Stop that!"

The blond wizard closed the distance between them and swatted his hand back before he could retreat. Natsu yelped.

"Don't!" He shouted.

The celestial spirit mage stared hard at her partner. She kept a hand on his arm to prevent him from escaping. She didn't trust herself with words given her frustration. Natsu squirmed under her grip but didn't say any more.

"Natsu," Happy said in a raspy voice, shifting in Lucy's arm. The dragon slayer's ears perked and he leaned forward. He took the Exceed from Lucy and cradled him.

"Happy," he whispered. The quiver in his voice cut through to Lucy's heartstrings. "What- how did you"

Natsu's voice tapered off. Lucy heard Happy give a relieved sigh and watched his eyelids crash down. He hadn't slept during their whole search for Natsu.

"Lucy," Natsu said. The celestial spirit mage looked up at his face. "Did I do this?"

"What?" She said, struck with understanding. "No!"

Lucy waved her hand in front of her face. She couldn't help answering the way she did; it was her first impulse and felt right. Natsu looked up at her; the teenage wizard held her eyes on him under his scrutiny.

"You don't know, do you?" He asked.

Lucy's aggravation boiled over.

"Why don't you trust me?" She snapped. She threw her hands up.

"I know you think I'm too weak to keep up with you," she said. "But the least you could do is tell me what you're thinking!"

Natsu murmured something. Lucy didn't stop to listen, even though she knew she should.

"I'm your partner! You're supposed to let me help you," she said. "You don't just leave me behind or close yourself off from me when you so obviously need"

"Lushi."

The blond mage paused at the sound of Happy saying her name. The blue Exceed had a sad frown and wide eyes aimed at her. After taking a moment to catch her breath, she realized Natsu had started shedding tears.

She felt her anger melt and waves of guilty sympathy replace it. Natsu sat slouched forward, his head hung over Happy, and his shoulders trembling. She'd never seen him look so small.

Lucy composed herself as best she could. She ghosted a hand over the fire mage's arm before she touched him. He didn't pull away.

"Natsu," she whispered. "Let's go back to the guild."

The dragon slayer gave a slow nod. Lucy sighed.

"My lady."

The celestial spirit mage started and whirled around.

"Loke," she said. "When did you"

Lucy paused as she took in the Lion spirit's appearance. Loke's hair lacked its typical sheen. His eyes seemed dark and lined with several bags. The stellar magic she sensed from him didn't seem as bright as usual either.

"Loke, are you all right?"

The Zodiac leader waved off her question.

"Peachy, my dear," he said. "I just wanted to offer my services in getting you both home."

Lucy wanted to press about Loke's condition, but given the spirit's stubborn nature and Natsu's exhaustion, she decided against it.

"How?"

"Via the spirit realm, of course."

Lucy processed that little nugget of information.

"That's possible?" She asked, unable to keep the incredulity from her voice.

"Well," Loke said. "It's technically illegal according to celestial law."

The Lion spirit flashed his flirtatious smile at her.

"But I've been known to bend rules before," he said, winking at her. "And these are rather extenuating circumstances."

Lucy glanced at Natsu. She had to agree.

* * *

Zeref wiped his brow. The immortal dark wizard had worked nonstop, and he still had projects to fill his time.

"Thankfully, the 'books' this time will be more like 'pamphlets'."

He tore off the garbs of several soldiers and sewed the threads together with his magic. Runes materialized in the night sky as he began writing.

* * *

 **A/N:** It lives! Finals are over, and I'm here to give you more story!

This one was tricky from the beginning, in part because the tone and pace is very different from the earlier chapters (though maybe that's just my insecurity about flow). I also had to change a few of my initial ideas for this one just because- well, they didn't seem to fit quite right. It's a brief one, I know, but again, it plants the seeds for further developments (the character kind! One of my favorites!) Hopefully the tension isn't totally lost.

If you enjoyed reading this, leave a review! If you didn't, give me and others recommendations for FT fan fictions to read in a review post!

 **Holy Crumbs a lotta Reviews this time:**

0FairyTail0: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm glad you think so!

thebooknerdgeek (that's a proud title): Thanks for reviewing! Glad you enjoy it! Here's an update for you, hope it's to your liking!

IndigoWolfie: Oh yeah! Salamander out and... um. Well, he's back at least! Thank you! I'll do my level best!

The Age of Awesomeness: Oh, hardly, but thank you very much! I'm so happy you enjoy it as much as you do, thank you for your patience and continued readership! Have an update! (Though I guess if you're down here you've read it already. I'll get to work on the next one ASAP!)

Si-chanwantdragon: Ah yes. The cute ones always suffer. As for your questions, I'm tight-lipped! You'll just have to wait and find out! All I'll say is I promise to try to make it awesome! Thank you for reading and reviewing! Hope the updates satiate you!

XMissFortune: Oh... Oh dear. You've got me all grinning and flustered. Really, you give me extremely high praise! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I'm ecstatic you enjoy the story as much as you do! I did try my best to make each scene have a purpose and feel right. Hopefully I pulled it off with this chapter too. I must agree, BrOTP DragBuster (that's my name for it) is glorious. I'm pleased that the story gets the attention it does already! I hope the story remains engaging for you and other readers!

Aggie12: Thank you for reading and reviewing! The story has had a few surprises for me so far, and I've enjoyed each of them! Here's hoping you and the readers enjoy them too!


	11. Warmth

Disclaimer: I keep putting this here. Is it to atone for missing it with earlier chapters? Who knows? Much as I love them, I don't own the characters of Fairy Tail nor the property as a whole.

* * *

 **Warmth**

Loke pulled Natsu to his feet. The dragon slayer hadn't moved from his spot on the ground since the Lion spirit appeared. Loke suspected it wasn't all by choice.

"Loke," Lucy said from behind him. "Are you really all right?"

The Zodiac leader turned and smiled, hoping to dispel his mistress' concern. He reached into his coat pocket and slipped something under her blouse strap; he almost earned himself a Lucy Kick for it.

"Given present company," he said, gesturing to Natsu with his eyes. "It might be prudent to discuss that later, after you've read the note."

Lucy quirked an eyebrow at him, but to his relief, let the matter drop.

"So why exactly is this method of travel illegal?"

The well-dressed spirit stiffened a moment.

"It's a bit," he said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "Complicated."

Lucy motioned for him to elaborate. Loke leaned toward her and whispered into her ear. Once he finished, Lucy turned to him with wide eyes and red cheeks.

"Oh."

Loke nodded. Lucy shook her head.

"As long as it gets us home faster."

The Lion spirit stifled a cough and pretended to stretch. After asking if his mistress was ready, he summoned the magic necessary for the trick. He tried to avoid thinking about what Aquarius might do to him once he returned.

Four and a half minutes later, the Zodiac leader felt thankful that the Water Bearer only gave him a verbal beating.

"If you ever," she said, holding the book of E.N.D. overhead in a threatening manner and wearing a crimson complexion. "Use my constellation like that again," she loomed over him with a petrifying glower. "I will dump you downstream of a Vulcan pack with severe indigestion."

The Lion spirit cringed and bowed.

"Won't happen again," he said.

Aquarius huffed and stepped back. Loke thought that the worst of his day had passed, but Virgo's voice informed him otherwise.

"The Spirit King demands an audience with Leo."

Loke pulled off his glasses, pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned.

* * *

Cana stared down at the imp she'd trapped in her card dimension. The little demon scratched and snarled within the pocket dimension. The brunette flipped the card between her fingers.

"What do you think, Master Mavis?"

The spirit of Fairy Tail's founder took the card from Cana and hummed at the little creature. She swung her feet over the floor from her perch on the bar top. Cana propped an elbow on the counter, leaning sideways on her stool.

"It certainly resembles one of Zeref's creations," Mavis said. She tapped the face of the card with her fingertip; the imp tumbled around inside and growled. The first master handed the card back to Cana. "Likely one of his spies."

Cana raised an eyebrow and squinted at the image of the rude critter.

"Seems kind of puny for a demon," she said. The imp whooped and pounded little fists against its prison in apparent outrage at Cana's comment. Mavis shrugged.

"It wouldn't have to be strong," she said. "The small size makes it better suited for acting as his eyes and ears."

Cana murmured agreement and rested her face in her other hand.

"I don't suppose you can tell us anything useful," she said, eying the trapped imp. "Like where your master disappeared to?"

The card mage received another snarl for her question. She sighed.

"That's what I thought," she said, standing up from her seat. "Now then, what to do with you."

Cana caught sight of Laki across the guildhall and smiled at the little demon. Her captive flinched at her expression.

"Laki," she said, waving the wood mage over. She released the imp from her card and presented it to her fellow wizard by its tail. "Would you mind taking care of this for me?"

Laki seemed unsure how to answer. Cana pulled her closer and whispered.

"No one has to know if you want to take him to Fairy Hills and 'experiment'," she said. "You know I won't judge your fun."

Laki took a moment before understanding and sudden eagerness gleamed from behind her glasses. She snatched the imp from Cana and hurried from the guild, her unfortunate victim squealing and squirming the whole way.

"Cana's pretty scary when she's on a dry spell."

The card mage turned a glare onto the table shared by Wakaba and Macao. There weren't many other wizards in the building given the early hour; locating the source of the quip wasn't difficult. She honed her glower in on the older smoke wizard.

"I think she heard you," Macao said, snickering. "Though I'd worry more about Gildarts."

"I mean," Wakaba said, turning in his chair to divert attention away and raising his voice. "Did you find them yet, Warren?"

The telepath wizard groaned.

"No," he said, shouting at the Fairy Tail veteran.

"They disappeared six hours ago! Why would they suddenly turn up now?"

Cana reclaimed her bar stool and ignored the rest of Warren's griping. She glanced down the counter at the unopened bottle of sake her father had brought from the cellar. The crash mage dozed not far from her; he went to sleep after she'd woken up a few hours before. She considered opening the drink.

"Hey," Max said, indicating a group of blips on the Magic Radar with his broom. "Isn't that them? Like, right outside?"

Everyone present hushed. The sudden silence woke Gildarts just as the front doors opened. Lucy and Natsu, the latter holding Happy, walked in. One look at the dragon slayer's state pushed Cana to make her decision; she snatched up the bottle.

* * *

Gajeel kept his spot with Lily while the rest of the guild got up to see Salamander and Bunny girl. The pierced wizard munched on some dinnerware and eyed the pink-haired fire mage. He tuned out most of the questions aimed at them; he had a good guess where the bruise on Bunny girl's neck came from. He didn't care how 'time zones' and the 'spirit realm' factored into why they'd disappeared from radar.

"He seems to have come to his senses." Lily commented.

Gajeel narrowed his eyes at Salamander.

Levy had been allowed to recuperate in her dorm room, and Gajeel had recovered for the most part in the half day since he last encountered his fellow dragon slayer. The iron mage couldn't repress all of his suspicion.

"Think so?"

Salamander looked about right; a little broken, but at least he didn't have that damn tail. Gajeel kept his gaze steady as Bunny girl parted the crowd to lead Salamander toward the infirmary.

He opened his mouth to talk to Salamander at a volume only he would hear, but stopped. The vacant look in his eyes visible from under his pink bangs told Gajeel all he wanted to know.

A crash brought his attention back to the front of the building. Gildarts muttered something about going for a walk before leaving through a hole in the wall. The iron dragon slayer chewed on his snack; he understood the desire to break something.

* * *

"Happy."

The little Exceed mumbled and rolled over in his cozy nest. Lucy's voice called to him in soft tones again. Something poked him through Natsu's scarf.

"You need to move so Porlyusica can treat you two," she said, ruffling the bundle Happy rested in.

"Don't wanna~," he whined, nuzzling into his foster father's warmth. The celestial spirit mage's hands pushed with more insistence. The magic cat grumbled and squirmed out of Natsu's scarf. He leapt onto Natsu's bare shoulder and came to nestle in his pink locks, curling into a comfortable doze.

Happy kneaded his favorite dragon slayer's hair with his paws. He let his tail hang down next to Natsu's neck. Lucy and Porlyusica exchanged about five words before the medical advisor questioned the teenager's continued presence.

"Happy," Natsu said. The Exceed purred to tell his partner he was listening. He could feel the shift as Natsu looked around the room. "Was this my fault?"

The blue cat swatted the fire mage's nose with his tail without opening his eyes.

"Dummy Natsu," he said. "A demon attacked us. That's all." Happy cracked an eye and looked at Lucy. "Hey, Lucy, I don't see any scary monsters here, do you?"

The spirit wizard smiled and shook her head.

"No," she said. "Not even a little one."

Happy felt some of Natsu's tension diminish; he kept looking around with a nervous twitch, though.

"Um," Natsu said. "Is Gramps in here?"

Happy's eyes snapped open. He inclined his head over Natsu's hair. Two curtains hid Makarov and Wendy from view. Porlyusica poked at Natsu's newest scar.

"Yes," she said, tearing off wraps for a bandage. "The old fool got his heart acting up again because he can't act his age. He'll keel over one of these days."

"And Wendy?"

The older pink-haired mage paused. She swung around and whipped back the curtain between them and Wendy. Bandages covered the left side of the younger dragon slayer, and her left arm still showed swelling under its wrap. Charla sat by the girl's head on her cot.

"Burns." Porlyusica said in a terse tone.

Happy looked at Lucy, searching for something to say. The blond mage seemed speechless.

"Is she okay?" Natsu asked.

Charla snapped at the fire dragon slayer before anyone else could answer.

"No! She's not okay! She might have permanent scars for the rest of her life and she's lucky to be alive, let alone have any of her face left thanks to"

Happy hissed.

The Exceed pounced from Natsu's head and landed on all fours between Charla and his adoptive parent. His blue fur stood on end. He dropped his angry expression when a quivering hand rubbed his ears.

"It's fine, Happy," Natsu said. The pink-haired mage's weak voice indicated otherwise. "You get good and rested, okay?"

"Natsu," Happy said.

Said fire mage took a deep breath and his eyes darted to Wendy.

"Sorry," he murmured, before bolting on shaky legs out of the infirmary.

Lucy called his name and followed. Happy tried to go after them, but Porlyusica stopped him.

"You still have a fever," she said, giving no other reason for keeping him there. The Exceed stared at the open door for a minute. He settled on his cot and closed his eyes, a silent whimper on the tip of his tongue.

* * *

"Natsu!" Lucy said.

The celestial spirit mage caught up to her partner just outside the guildhall. Nonetheless, he kept going, drawing in brief, harried breaths.

"NATSU!" Lucy yelled.

The dragon slayer froze at her raised voice; still on the verge of hyperventilating, he turned to look at her. Lucy made a conscious effort to curb her aggravated concern and lowered her voice.

"Talk to me?" She asked. The blond wizard remembered her parents using the same tone with her as a child on the rare occasion she gave them the silent treatment. Natsu's breathing seemed to even out. He tilted his head back toward the guild and shivered.

"I'm tired," he said, swaying on his feet. Lucy drew closer to him. "And I don't wanna be in there."

Natsu turned toward Lucy. She saw guilt and desperation in the eyes that always held strength. She gave him a shallow nod and took one of his hands with hers.

"All right," she said. "We can go to my place."

The fire mage shook his head.

"I'll just go home"

"Natsu."

Lucy kept her voice soft but made her words firm. She tightened her grip on the hand she held.

"You can barely stand up by yourself," she said. "I won't have you collapsing somewhere in the woods. My apartment is closer. You can rest there."

The blond wizard held her head high and kept her hold on Natsu while he regarded her with nervous eyes.

"Okay."

Lucy smiled a little at him and walked toward her apartment. Natsu was never far behind her, since their hands stayed linked, but the fire mage wouldn't walk next to her. Every time she glanced behind to look at him, her heart broke a little. Natsu would feel her eyes on him, and he'd smile at her; his mouth stayed closed and the expression seemed strained. Each one looked false, as if he only smiled to reassure her.

She just felt worse for that.

"I'll find something to cover the windows with," she said upon entering her apartment. "Just make sure you wash your feet and face, okay?"

The dragon slayer didn't say anything. He slumped toward her bathroom. Lucy watched him for a moment before she went to her kitchen to dig out an old table cloth for a makeshift curtain; the sun had begun to rise, and the light would make sleep difficult for both of them.

She heard the water stop running before she returned. The celestial spirit mage walked into the bedroom and found Natsu already curled into a fetal ball on top of her sheets. He lay facing the window, his scarf's tail draped over his side.

Lucy took her desk chair and stood on it to pin the aged fabric on her window frame and let it hang down.

"Luce."

She glanced down at Natsu; he rubbed the material of his scarf with one hand.

"Do I have anything on my chest?"

The fire mage's eyes stayed closed. Lucy tilted her head.

"No." She said, uncertain of the question's purpose or origin. Natsu murmured something and buried his nose with his scarf.

Lucy decided against pressing him further. She stepped down off her chair and took out the note Loke had given her. She set it on her desk. The celestial spirit mage pulled a fresh set of clothes from her dresser and began stripping off the dirty garments she wore.

When she had gotten down to her underwear, she looked over her shoulder to check on her partner; his unabashed, staring eyes greeted her. To the dragon slayer's credit, he seemed focused on her face rather than her partial nudity; that fact didn't prevent the flush that raced to her cheeks.

"Quit staring, pervert!"

Natsu frowned a little. He rolled over.

"Not a pervert," he muttered.

Lucy sighed and hurried through changing. Once she had finished, she noticed Natsu watching her again.

"Why are you staring at me?" She demanded.

The fire mage had the decency to look a little embarrassed at being caught twice. He pressed his face down into a pillow. Lucy placed her desk chair next to the bed. She brought up one hand to poke at him. Natsu snatched the hand up himself. She suppressed a squeak.

The fire mage just held her hand and stared at it.

"Natsu?"

In a whisper so quiet she almost couldn't hear him, he answered.

"I'm scared, Luce."

The celestial spirit mage let her partner run his callous thumb on her palm and waited.

"I dunno if this is real," he said, taking a deep, steadying breath with every pause. "I'm confused." He looked up at her. "And I'm scared to think about what I did."

"Natsu," Lucy began. "You didn't"

"I had a nightmare." He said, interrupting her. Again, Lucy chose to let him speak on his own.

"But after I woke up," he said, emphasizing the last two words. "I found you and it wasn't a dream."

Lucy's free hand touched her neck.

"I attacked everyone," he said, water seeping into his sentences. "I hurt Levy, I crippled Elfman," he said. He choked on a light sob. "And I think I killed Mira."

The dragon slayer pulled his scarf over his face, hiding it from Lucy. The spirit mage blinked back tears. She just listened to his breathing for a minute before she set herself to run with what came to mind.

"I know you're smarter than that," she said. The fire mage peeked out from behind his scarf. "If they really were that badly injured, they'd have been in the infirmary, right?"

Lucy brushed back his pink hair with her other hand. She flicked his ear at his hesitation.

"Right?"

He nodded. She smiled a bit; his eyelids fell halfway and she felt his nerves settle.

"Natsu," she whispered, stroking his head behind his ears. "Even if you were some sort of monster, it wouldn't matter." She wrapped her fingers around the hand he had holding hers. "You're a fighter, a fire wizard and a dragon slayer; but you're a Fairy Tail mage before any of that."

Natsu sank further into the celestial spirit mage's mattress and he murmured. Lucy smiled in tired sympathy.

"Get some sleep," she said. "I'll be right here."

* * *

Zeref regarded the morning air; he'd worked through the night.

He'd done away with the necessity of sleep along with other things over the four centuries of his life.

"Another of my spies has been discovered," he mused, absently silencing the last of the groans from his more tenacious soldiers. "Perhaps I should move up my time table."

The immortal dark wizard looked over the runes he'd written again. He smirked at the thought that he was spellchecking his own work.

Finding no mistakes, he turned back to consider the mountain of dead around him. He chilled the air with his magic and set about harvesting necessary organs for his next project.

* * *

 **A/N:** Would any of you believe that I actually took the time to calculate the ratio between time in the spirit realm and time in the real world and never once considered just using DBZ's Hyperbolic Time Chamber as a reference point? Silly me! I have my own thoughts, but I'll let the readers come up with their own reasons for why Loke's proposed means of travel violates celestial law.

It's bad form for me to explain it here, but just in case someone is confused, one of Laki's character traits is a (sort of) closet sadism bend. (Whoops. I just explained the joke.)

Hopefully the extra couple days haven't left any of you lovely readers hanging too long! This one took a bit more out of me. Here's hoping the tension still rides fairly high while I work on our dear Fairy Tail characters!

If you felt something while reading this, leave a review! If not, please tell me why because it means I'm not doing this properly! Alternatively, if some haven't noticed, I've tried to maintain a theme of burning/fire with regard to chapter titles, so if you have ideas, feel free! No guarantee I'll use them, but who knows?

 **To They Who Review:**

xMissFortune: I appreciate the credit you attribute to me! I'm also extremely glad the feels made it through to you! Have another dose! I'm dedicated to keeping some suspense, so you'll just have to- waitaminit, sewing bodies? (Checks last chapter) Oh. Em. Faulty wording on my part. Fixed. That's embarrassing. But regardless, I promise I'll work to keep Zeref's projects interesting and hopefully the final product will pay off! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

The Age of Awesomeness: Thank you for reading and reviewing again! Here's that new chapter you waited so patiently for! Hope you enjoy it! I'll keep churning out more content!


	12. Heated Discussion

Disclaimer: Still no ownership bragging rights to name.

* * *

 **Heated Discussion**

Natsu dozed. Every time he felt himself sinking deeper than that, something foreboding tugged at him. His instincts kept him wary of it.

The fire mage listened to Lucy's breathing; his partner had fallen asleep a while ago. He cracked an eye open- she didn't look too comfortable in her desk chair. He couldn't help noticing the bruise that stood out against her skin even in the dim light. He squeezed the hand he still held and sniffed at her pillow.

Natsu's left hand moved beneath the comforter, rising out from under it in a lazy motion.

Except the hand and arm had a charcoal color. Natsu snapped both his eyes wide as his fingers splayed and reached for Lucy's neck. The fire dragon slayer glared at his hand and hissed through clenched teeth.

"Do. Not. Touch. Lucy."

His hand twitched and hovered in midair, inches from the celestial spirit mage's injury. The discolored hand hung down, fingers retracting and curling. It lay on top of the comforter as if scolded.

Lucy murmured something and shifted in her seat. Natsu watched the blond for a second before staring at his left hand. He scooted on the mattress away from Lucy. The fire mage released his grip on her hand and sat up.

"You can't just," he said, pausing with his mouth hanging open. He blinked at his hand. The charcoal appendage perked a bit. "Luce is my partner."

The dragon slayer scratched at his head with his right hand. He tried lifting his left; expecting resistance, he found none and his arm shot up over his head.

"I don't think I'm sick," he said, keeping his voice down. He lowered his hand again, turning it in front of his face. He discovered some rebellion from it if he flipped his wrist back and forth.

Before he could think any further on his new pigmentation, his left hand snapped toward the curtain Lucy had put up. Claws replaced the charcoal fingers. The pink-haired mage forced the hand down and grabbed his scarf. He nudged Lucy's covers off him with his feet.

He peeled back the curtain and jumped from her window to the street below. He caught a familiar scent once open air hit his face; the fire mage wrapped his muffler around his discolored forearm before Gray appeared around the corner. Natsu's left hand clenched.

"He ain't dangerous," he said in a whisper.

"Not really an appropriate time for a one night stand," Gray said, indicating Lucy's window with his thumb. "We're still at war, moron."

Natsu took a moment before he cocked his head.

"Huh?"

"Unless you usually take off your shirt and shoes to see her," Gray said.

The dragon slayer narrowed his eyes.

"I was only in there for an hour," Natsu said, focusing on the ice mage's first comment.

The devil slayer held up a hand.

"I don't need to know about whatever issues you have with stamina," he said.

Natsu huffed.

"Whatever," he said, crossing his arms. If Gray had any suspicions about the way he wore his scarf, he didn't say anything. "Stupid ice... uh, icebox."

Snow queen quirked an eyebrow at Natsu. The fire mage moved to walk past his rival. He repressed the spike in tension from his left arm. Gray sidestepped to block him.

"That was pathetic even for you, sakura blossom," he said. "What's wrong with you?"

Natsu stilled his trembling left arm with his right hand and forced a smirk.

"Didn't know ya cared."

The ice mage scoffed.

"I'm only here because Erza promised a lifetime record thrashing if I didn't find you," he said. "I don't want to be held responsible if you're broken."

The last word triggered a relapse of the dragon slayer's nightmare. The agitation in his left arm relaxed for an instant. His gaze sank downward. Natsu grunted at a shove to his chest.

"Listen, pyro," Gray said, pointing into Natsu's face. "You don't get to sulk over whatever's happened the last few hours."

Natsu opened his mouth to respond, but Gray didn't let him.

"Because it's your own damn fault that you went insane; you didn't trust us."

The fire mage almost staggered.

"What"

"Did you even consider telling us that you know about your connection to Zeref?" Gray asked.

Natsu let his mouth hang open; he murmured.

"What does it matter?"

Gray slammed his fist into the dragon slayer's face and knocked him into Lucy's apartment building.

"It matters because there are consequences, dumbass!" He yelled.

"Did you ever think," he said. "That one of us might have killed you without knowing it?"

Natsu sat on the cobblestone and stared at the devil slayer.

"Gray"

The raven-haired wizard had already stormed off, leaving Natsu. The fire mage let his head fall back and thud against the wall he'd been knocked into. His left hand shook in a fist.

"Nah," he said, pulling himself up. "He's just annoying."

The shaking lessened and his arm quieted. He let his scarf unravel from around his hand; the charcoal color remained, but the claws had vanished. The dragon slayer set off toward his house.

"He ain't wrong, though."

* * *

Gray stopped somewhere along the canal that ran through Magnolia. The ice mage leaned over a bridge and stared at his reflection in the water.

"Stupid." He muttered.

"Gray-sama."

The devil slayer looked over his shoulder. Juvia stood a few paces behind him.

"Juvia overhead," she said, stepping closer until they stood next to one another. "Juvia was worried."

Gray shifted one of his shoulders in a shrug.

"I'm fine."

He looked back across the water, avoiding eye contact with the blue-haired mage. He shoved his hands in his pockets; her warmth tempted him to reach out. Juvia stayed for several minutes before she shifted away. He cracked.

"Half a foot," he said. He felt Juvia's eyes focus back on him. The ice wizard took out his right hand and let his demon slaying magic manifest. "Probably even less than that. Two, three inches at most."

He glared at the black markings that ran up his arm.

"That's how close I came to killing him."

Gray took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"I spent the past year training to use this power," he said, flexing out his fingers. "My only goal was to kill Zeref's demons."

Gray felt a hand touch his arm. The raven-haired mage looked at Juvia.

"Juvia thinks Gray-sama should heed his own wisdom," she said. "The past can't be changed, as you said to Natsu-san."

Gray's demon markings receded.

"Juvia believes nothing has to change," she said, smiling a little. "Natsu-san was your goal even before you knew what he is."

The devil slayer stiffened a bit. The water mage murmured.

"Juvia wishes Gray-sama had as much regard for Juvia."

Gray rolled his eyes away from the former elemental and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah, well."

He felt the warm hand leave his arm. He turned back to Juvia as she walked off.

"Where you going?"

Juvia stopped and peeked at him. She fiddled with her hands.

"Juvia thought Gray-sama wanted to be alone."

Gray stared for a second longer than he meant to before breaking eye contact again.

"I don't mind your company," he said. A beat passed before he sensed the water wizard return to his side. He took a minute to appreciate the silence.

"Juvia," he said. She hummed. "Thanks."

* * *

Gildarts waved Natsu down on his way back toward the guildhall. The dragon slayer had fresh clothes, but he seemed a little more fatigued than earlier, if possible. One of the kid's eyes looked bloodshot. Gildarts nonetheless grinned at him.

"Yo, Natsu," he said. "You look like hell."

The crash mage noticed how Natsu's left hand was stuffed inside his sleeve, but he didn't comment on it. The fire mage swayed as they walked together.

"I've been thinking," he said. He didn't act as if he'd heard Gildarts' teasing tone. The older wizard chuckled.

"This is what that does to you, huh?"

"I came up with an idea to end the war," he said. Gildarts wrapped his prosthetic arm around Natsu's shoulders.

"I'm impressed," he said, masking his interest under an expression of amused disbelief. Natsu tilted toward and bumped his shoulder against the crash mage before he steadied himself.

"Yeah," he said. "Worst that might happen is I end up dead along with Zeref."

Gildarts frowned. He flicked the dragon slayer's head with his right hand a bit harder than intended; he sent Natsu rolling onto the ground.

"What'd I say now?" Natsu asked, groaning as he sat up.

Gildarts crouched by the fire-eater.

"Fairy Tail has rules about treating your life lightly, you know." He said. Natsu glanced down.

"Cutting this war short sounds like a fair trade," he murmured. Before the ace of Fairy Tail could chide him, Natsu pushed up to his feet. "I just said that was the worst that could happen. I ain't gonna _let_ it happen."

Gildarts smirked, ruffling the younger wizard's hair.

"Atta boy."

The crash mage paused at the guildhall entrance.

"You really should be careful talking like that, though," he said. He pushed the door open. "Not all of us have my understanding disposition."

"Natsu!"

Mira called and beamed at the fire wizard from behind the bar. Gildarts took a seat on a bar stool and watched as the eldest Strauss sibling made her way over. She'd used her transformation magic to hide her lingering facial burns.

"You look famished," she said, fretting over the dragon slayer in the motherly way she looked over the entire guild. "I'll fix you something to perk you up."

"Mira- I"

"Men do not refuse free food, Natsu!" Elfman shouted from the bar, slamming a fist on the counter to emphasize his point. He still had splints on some of his fingers, but he couldn't have been in too much pain. His neck brace had come off earlier. Gildarts couldn't help grinning at how like Fairy Tail the exchange sounded. Natsu hadn't moved except for being pulled by Mira toward the nearest table.

"Natsu Dragneel."

Erzas hard, cold voice from the second floor provoked a shiver from the fire mage. Gildarts leaned against the counter and shrugged when Natsu looked to him. Erza came flying down, landing by the dragon slayer, and wielding one of her katana.

"I'll just bring out your food once it's ready," Mira said in her usual light tone, still smiling. Natsu stared after her retreating form in a sweat until Erza recaptured his attention.

"You left the guild in a blaze," she said, emitting a dark aura as she loomed over him. "You ran amok in Fiore," she pointed the blade at Natsu's pale face. "And after all that, you disappeared without telling your teammates where you went or whether you were okay!"

Gildarts thought he heard Natsu mutter something about a misunderstanding before Erza jammed the business end of her sword into the floor. The dragon slayer jumped a little.

"You are forbidden from ever scaring us like that again."

The requip mage's voice had lost its edge, and the malicious aura had dissipated. Gildarts rested his face on his hand. Natsu blinked a few times, and his shoulders relaxed.

"Erza"

"Ever," she said, firmer than a moment ago. Natsu just nodded and she slammed him headfirst to her chest plate in a one-sided embrace. Gildarts turned in his seat to order another drink; he had every confidence that the kids would be fine.

* * *

Charla pressed her face against the mattress. She wanted to forget her premonition.

"Charla," Wendy murmured. The white Exceed shook her head to focus on her charge. She pawed at the young dragon slayer's hair. "Why were you so rude to Natsu-san?"

The magical cat rolled her eyes and tried to set her wobbling lip.

"I was just worried," she said. Charla knew she needed to tell someone. "And I'm a bit tired. That's all."

Wendy sat up on her cot. Most of her bandages had been changed.

"You didn't have to exaggerate my injuries," she said, testing out her left hand. "Most of this won't be permanent."

Charla rested against Wendy's side, facing the window to avoid looking at her. The Exceed couldn't bring herself to share the source of her distress.

"I'm sorry."

She felt Wendy's hand stroke her fur.

"You should apologize to Happy and Natsu-san, not me."

Charla closed her eyes to prevent tears.

"I will."

No one had to know yet; Zeref would win the war.

* * *

 **A/N:** AH! What does my life have against my writing fan fiction?

Is this short given the wait? Definitely. Overdue? Indubitably. Fun to write? Surprisingly. Fluffy? Er, I think. I'm not a great judge of that for myself. I know one of my other FT fics certainly is. But there's also plot! Oh snap!

I want to talk about the state of characters, but I must resist for suspense's sake! If you enjoyed this, leave a review! If you didn't, go be a productive member of society, but mash the keyboard just the once to show you were once here on the interwebs!

 **Review Reply Corner:**

The Age of Awesomeness: You my friend get points for consistency and being legit. I have to admit I'm impressed how truly you stick to your principle of giving the author encouragement! And I thank you for it once again! Have an update! I'll fight against any odds that might prevent me from providing more soon!


	13. Smolder

Disclaimer: At this point, I could just faff about with this thing, but the all of me that respects Hiro Mashima demands I tell you that I don't own Fairy Tail or the characters within.

* * *

 **Smolder**

END dreamt of strange things. The fire demon caught glimpses of the same mortals he'd been hunting. Yet he felt an odd sort of easiness about seeing them. He couldn't describe it except as an absence of tension.

He also heard a voice; it didn't belong to nii-san. The voice spoke less often and didn't always speak to him. But something about it gave him confidence. He remembered hearing the red warrior call the voice's owner Dragneel, like his brother.

END liked having another to call nii-san.

* * *

"First Master."

Mavis looked up from her spot in the infirmary window. She smiled at Porlyusica.

"Am I a distraction?" She asked. The guild founder had been wracking her brain to plot out countermeasures for any foreseeable action Zeref might take. She'd needed a break; thus her visit to see Makarov. Porlyusica shook her head.

"Nothing of the sort," she said, taking Makarov's vitals down again. "I just didn't notice you."

"How is he?" Mavis asked. Her godson hadn't awoken since his most recent attack. She suspected it had as much to do with the medicine Porlyusica administered as with his fatigue.

"Stubborn," Porlyusica said, flipping out a fresh roll of gauze. "Incorrigible." She ripped a stretch of it off to emphasize her point. "But he'll be up and causing trouble again soon enough."

Mavis hid her smile behind her hand. She saw right through the medical advisor's harsh tone.

"Thank you."

Porlyusica scoffed.

"The old fool's fortunate to have such a pigheaded band of humans around with him," she said. "Seeing them all here should alleviate some of the distress that contributed to his episode."

Mavis nodded. It was nice to have everyone back-

Her brow furrowed. She retreated into her mind and her eyes lost focus, looking through Makarov.

Mavis slipped down through the floor; she needed to brief the guild.

* * *

"You've violated numerous celestial laws."

Loke tried to stand still and maintain an impassive face in front of the Celestial Spirit King. The mustached giant continued in his deep, deliberate voice.

"The act of tainting our realm's sanctity with a book of demonic origin," he said, his stony face unmoving. "Endangers not only yourself, but your master and fellow spirits."

Loke wrinkled his nose; his glasses lowered a bit on his face.

"And using that antiquated means of travel without permission, let alone at all." The lord of the Spirit Realm shook his head. "I thought you had more respect for your fellows, old friend."

The Lion spirit muttered and fixed his spectacles.

"Why are you telling me things we both already know?"

The Celestial Spirit King's voice boomed, echoing through the cosmos.

"Because you have behaved as though ignorant!"

Loke winced at the volume and rubbed his ears.

"Have you anything to say in your defense?"

The Zodiac leader tugged at the cuff of his shirtsleeve.

"I was helping a guild mate," he said, glancing down as he lowered his voice. "A guild mate and a friend."

The Lion spirit waited for the decree of his King. The armored spirit stroked his mustache and hummed.

"Ah, perhaps I have been acting ignorant," he said. Loke's ears perked and he raised his hands in a placating gesture. "I had almost forgotten that _he_ once came here with you. Even stayed, for a time."

Loke's mind drifted; the phantom of a smile played out on his face as he recalled the memory.

"Nonetheless, old friend," said the King, pulling out his massive sword. "Law requires that punishment be meted out."

Loke sighed and nodded, dipping his head and closing his eyes. The Zodiac leader felt the space around him give way to the King's blade.

He felt a light tap on his head; the fatigue from contact with Zeref's book vanished and light coursed through him. Loke blinked. Twice.

"Now," said his King, replacing his sword. "You are sentenced to exile from the Spirit Realm until your business has been resolved."

Loke stared up at the Celestial Spirit King.

"And once you're finished, rid our home of that tome. Return it to its rightful owner."

Loke's mouth hung open. The King's mustache twitched.

"Have you any issue with my ruling," the King said, a grin turning up the ends of his mustache. "Old friend?"

Loke smiled and bowed his head.

"None, sir."

The Lion spirit left to join his guild mates.

* * *

Zeref finished restoring the body of the strongest wizard saint. The immortal mage pumped ethernano into the body's veins to reinvigorate him.

"I'm sending you ahead as a harbinger of despair," he said, watching as one of his Spriggan 12 struck dramatic poses. "Eliminate any fairies you wish; leave the guild standing."

God Serena inclined his head toward Zeref. The black wizard gave a flick of his finger to send him off.

* * *

"So yer sayin'," Gajeel said. "That Zeref used Salamander and made him go nuts 'cause he wanted us all in one place?"

Lucy made a note to thank Levy for jabbing the iron mage's ribs. She glanced at Natsu. If he'd been upset by Gajeel's comment, he didn't say so; he hadn't spoken since Mavis called everyone together.

The fire mage had been exuding a much more aggressive degree of heat than usual, even after Erza demanded he cool off.

"I think it's a good possibility, yes," Mavis said. Only Makarov was absent from the gathering in the main hall. Lucy cradled Happy in her arms; the blue Exceed refused to miss out despite his condition. "It's just about the best explanation for why he didn't strike while we were all spread thin; he wants to get rid of us in one move."

Lucy held Happy a little tighter, remembering the chill she'd felt last time she'd encountered Zeref.

"The hell makes him think he can?" Gajeel asked. "Last time one of theirs surprised us, we kicked ass."

"As powerful as the Spriggan 12 are," Mavis said. "It's unlikely any of them possess the knowledge or magic power that Zeref does."

A beat passed before anyone spoke again.

"So," Cana said, swirling the contents of a bottle around in her hand. "What are we supposed to do with that?"

Wendy turned in her seat toward Cana.

"What do you mean, Cana-san?"

"Well," Cana said, tapping the bottom of her bottle on the tabletop where she sat. "Do we stay here and fortify defenses? Or do we spread out to bring the fight to him?"

Erza placed a hand on her hip.

"The longer we deliberate," she said. "The more time we give him to prepare."

Lucy looked down at Happy and wondered at the question herself. A small sigh beside her preceded Charla's input.

"There's something else to consider," she said, standing on the bench by Wendy. "I recently had another vision."

The white Exceed took a deep breath.

"It's a little murky," she said, using a tone that tried to sound positive. "But in it, I saw Zeref in the guild." She paused. "And Fairy Heart with him."

Everyone went quiet. Lucy forgot to breathe for several seconds before Mavis broke the silence.

"Describe the vision," she said, hovering in front of Charla. "Please; with as much detail as possible."

Charla squeezed her eyes shut and rubbed her forehead.

"There's another person with him. I think it's one of our members. I can't see who it is. They're talking, but the noise drowns it out."

"What noise?" Lucy asked. Charla frowned.

"I can't tell exactly. But I can see Zeref in front of Mavis' body."

"Anything else?" Mavis asked. Lucy noticed Charla hesitate before shaking her head. Mavis hummed.

"That's still kind of vague. Do you have any sense of when these events might occur?"

The white Exceed shuddered.

"Very soon."

Mavis' eyes narrowed and she tapped her finger on her chin. Lucy listened to the buzzing whispers around the hall. Wendy hugged Charla. Lucy heard Natsu hiss; the dragon slayer had punctured his lip with his sharp canine and blood leaked down to his chin.

"What's all this moping around going to accomplish?"

Everyone looked up. Makarov stood on the second floor railing. The old wizard saint looked little better than he had in his bed, but he stood straight and held his head high.

"Nothing is totally etched in stone," he said, gesturing with his still bandaged hands. "Have you brats forgotten what I've told you all countless times?"

No one spoke.

"Never," he said. "Under any circumstance, let others dictate your limitations; whether as a person, a mage, or a member of Fairy Tail."

Makarov lifted a fist overhead.

"If the future involves Zeref coming to our doorstep, we'll face it. But we have as much a role in forging our own paths as do the hands of fate!"

Lucy felt emotion welling in her eyes. Makarov jabbed his index finger upward and his thumb to the side.

"This old man will fight until he can't move anymore! I can see Fairy Tail prospering beyond this battle! Now rally yourselves, brats!"

Lucy joined her guild mates in answering Makarov.

"AYE SIR!"

* * *

Natsu scratched the tile roof of the guildhall. He glared at the grey skies above Magnolia. The dragon slayer's left arm prickled beneath his sleeve.

He rubbed the scar on his side; Wendy had insisted on healing everyone's lingering wounds with the magic she'd regained. The younger dragon slayer had been upset that she wasn't allowed to fight given her condition. Happy hadn't been, well, happy about mandatory bed rest either.

Natsu's left hand clenched.

"Yeah." He said, digging into the roof tile with his fingernails. The fire mage's jaw tightened. One tile of the roof came off; the fingers of his right hand stayed in a hook shape even after he dropped it. Natsu buried his nose in his scarf. He pressed the fabric up to his face and took a long sniff.

The faint scent of brimstone filled his nostrils. He felt his nerves relax a little.

"Natsu?"

The dragon slayer turned to face Lucy. She smiled.

"May I join you?"

He nodded and watched her sit down.

"How'd you find me?" He asked.

Lucy scoffed.

"You underestimate me too much." She said.

Natsu recalled what his partner accused him of only hours earlier. He mumbled into his scarf.

"I never thought you were weak."

"Hm?"

"Nothin'," he said. "Did Warren find anything?"

Lucy shook her head. Natsu glanced back at her. He tugged at his scarf.

"Hey, Luce," he said, pulling Igneel's gift from his neck. "Could ya do me a favor?"

Natsu didn't give the celestial spirit mage a chance to reply before he wrapped the material around her neck.

"Keep that safe for me."

Natsu watched Lucy's eyes widen. She brushed her fingers against the scarf and stared at it.

"Why?" She asked.

"Cause I trust you," he said, keeping his gaze on her steady. "And I don't want you to resent me anymore."

The dragon slayer broke eye contact. He curled and uncurled the fingers of his left hand, keeping it out of Lucy's sight.

"I gotta plan to stop Zeref," he said. "But I ain't got a note to give you, so" he pointed at the muffler. "That's my promise that I'll come back."

Natsu turned and gave his partner the best grin he could manage. Lucy tilted her head and touched his shoulder.

"Natsu," she said, something unidentifiable in her tone. "What is your plan?"

The dragon slayer's face dropped a little. He shifted his feet against the roof in front of where he sat. He knew Lucy wouldn't like the idea.

"I"

The fire mage's ear twitched and he wrinkled his nose. He turned from Lucy and growled, bracing his hands against the roof. A violent quake shook the ground and he clenched his teeth, the sound of earth tearing filling his ears. Natsu sensed dragon slayer magic nearby.

* * *

 **A/N:** I have so many things to say. First I suppose that, I promise, I feel every extra day it takes for these chapters just as much as you do, readers.

Apologies for the over-two-weeks it took for this one. But the rush I have now that I got it down? Outstanding! I'll admit, I had to cut out a few ideas for this chapter to feel right to me. It's worth it though! Thankfully I didn't fall prey to the whole 'I must lengthen the next chapter to make up for the wait' trap. That's not a fun cycle for anybody involved.

Hm. Now that I'm here, I seem to be blanking on all the things I thought I had to say. BUT! If you enjoyed reading this, leave a review! If you didn't, know that you can bring this man-child great joy by taking fifteen seconds to type something!

 **To The Reviewers:**

TheAgeofAwesomeness: Hm. Some valid points there, my friend. I respect that. Regardless of your reasons, thank you for reading and reviewing! Here's one more for you! More to come ASAP!

0FairyTail0: Thank you very much! I'll do my best to maintain a flow of some kind of quality! I appreciate your readership and reviewership! (That's a word now. I say so.) Have another chapter!

xMissFortune: Ooh. Yeah. Hey, if I could be any kind of slayer, I'd be an Exam Slayer, y'know what I mean? Haha, no? Ho-kay, moving along. FEELS FOR EVERYBODY! HUZZAH! I'm so glad you found them both endearing! I do try to keep things focused, so I'm glad it's working! Thank you for continued reading and reviewing! Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Dragonslayer111 (There are another hundred and two out there? Whoa.): Thank you for reading and reviewing! As for your suggestions... I can neither confirm nor deny what may or may _not_ happen in the rest of the story! We'll both just have to wait and find out! Hope you enjoy this chapter!


	14. Spark

Disclaimer: Thought you could escape me for three full weeks but I STILL don't own Fairy Tail!

* * *

 **Spark**

Gajeel walked with Wendy and Charla toward the Fairy Hills dormitory. The iron mage had something on his mind, and he figured Levy would be a good sounding board for his ideas.

Not that he needed an excuse to see Levy.

"You don't believe Master Mavis' theory, do you?" Lily asked from Gajeel's shoulder. The dragon slayer shrugged with the other shoulder.

"Can't say she's wrong," he said. "But what Salamander did is the kinda thing that sends a message"

The pierced wizard paused; he felt an immense magic power emanating from nearby that hadn't been there a moment earlier. He grabbed Wendy and shoved her away before diving in the opposite direction.

 **Cavern Dragon's Earth Destruction!**

The black-haired mage watched the cobblestone street shred into crumbling blocks as the earth beneath it swelled like boiling water. He fell against the outer wall of a shop and the quakes caused the structure to collapse over him.

He bashed a hole in the roof and saw the source of the attack. Some tall guy with a scar across his face stood on top of a small cliff formed by the broken canal.

"Oh-oh," the stranger said, paying the slayer no mind. "One of them escaped."

Gajeel assumed he meant Wendy. The iron mage kicked his way out of the wreckage. He saw Lily charging him from behind in his battle form. Gajeel dubbed the scarred face 'Poser' for using dragon magic that didn't smell natural.

Poser caught Lily's Musica Sword between two fingers and pulled it out of the Exceed's hands. He swatted Lily in the jaw with the hilt without turning around.

"Lily!"

The black cat's body seized up in midair and he splashed into the canal. Poser dropped his blade in after him and turned toward Gajeel.

 **Iron Dragon's Scales!**

The dragon slayer felt a fist in his gut a moment before his spell could protect his body. He doubled over, his feet shaking.

"I caught a fairy~," Poser trilled, opening his fist to grab Gajeel's coat. "Lucky me."

Gajeel gave the best glare he could from his position. He pulled back an inch to kick at Poser's face. He lifted an open palm to halt the blow and jabbed at Gajeel's armored calf. Even without using magic, Poser managed to hurt him.

"I could use your help," he said, speaking as though to a child. "Where is your nest?"

Gajeel snarled. Poser grabbed his outstretched leg. He lifted Gajeel into the air and swung him into the nearest intact building.

"I have leave to do whatever I please," Poser said, heaving Gajeel over his head and slamming the iron mage into concrete. "Except I can't destroy your guild hall."

The pierced dragon slayer coughed and hacked, trying to gather his breath for a roar. Poser cut his effort short by twisting his ankle hard in an unnatural direction.

"So," he said, leaning over Gajeel with an infuriating grin. "You tell me where it is, and I'll make sure you don't have to watch me ruin the rest of this town."

Gajeel hissed through clenched teeth. He summoned a succession of iron poles from the ground beneath Poser. The faux slayer sidestepped each one and sighed.

"I gave you a reasonable out," he said. Gajeel pushed up as his opponent's magic power spiked. "But surely you fairies can protect one building, right?"

 **Purgatory Dragon's Fiery Damnation!**

* * *

Natsu paused midstride as a layer of flame appeared over Magnolia like a band of clouds. The fire mage focused magic power around his feet and rocketed up into the descending mass. He chomped and gobbled everything he could get his hands on; he wondered about his plan, how reliable his instincts were, and about what he was.

And then Natsu belched.

"Thank you for the meal." He murmured on his way back to the ground. He felt like he could burst with the overwhelming magic power he had in his belly.

"I'm all fired up."

* * *

God Serena watched with mild interest as his flames vanished into the gaping mouth of one of the fairies.

"Ah, a slayer," he said, pressing splayed fingers to his forehead. "So the fairies aren't completely helpless."

The iron wizard interrupted the former wizard saint's musings.

"Hell no." He said, slashing with an iron sword that used to be his arm. God Serena ducked and wove around each attack with ease.

"I figured out the message your boss was sendin' us," he said as he changed his other arm into a spear and launched a barrage of iron spearheads. "But the message ain't the worst part."

The little iron fairy forced God Serena against the wall of a building.

"What pisses me off," he said, turning the sword into a long iron club and jabbing it toward God Serena. "Is that I actually believed it for a second."

"Very good," God Serena said, catching the blunt end of the club with one hand. "You almost made me forget that you've been immobilized."

The hybrid dragon slayer flipped the iron weapon upward to put the fairy off balance and closed the distance between them in an instant.

"Almost."

The former Ishgar wizard concentrated his fantastic magic into one palm. The iron fairy smirked.

"Gihi."

He ducked. The black man-cat swung his sword at God Serena. The hybrid slayer leapt back, escaping at the cost of a few stray hairs. Nonetheless, he grinned.

"Fairies," he said, renewing his magic into his hand. "Demons, dragons, even gods; it doesn't matter to me."

 **Sea King Dragon's Encircling Deluge!**

With a flip of his wrist, God Serena summoned a torrent of water that blasted toward his targets.

"Because I"

A white light blinked in the middle of the water magic, followed by an explosion that dispersed it. The former wizard saint only caught the fist that came toward him with his forearm by a fraction of a second.

* * *

"Don't care."

Gildarts slammed his fist infused with his magic into God Serena's forearm and sent him backward. Fairy Tail's ace huffed and glowered.

"Real tired of punks coming and screwing with these kids," he said. The crash mage had a tenuous grasp on his self-restraint; he murmured in low tones.

"Warren," he said, watching God Serena's grin with mounting agitation. "What did Master say about property damage?"

Before the telepath could answer, God Serana's laugh broke Gildarts' focus. The dragon slayer held up the folds of his robe in a dramatic pose.

"You," he said, pointing at Gildarts with his other hand. "I can have some fun with."

The traitor to Ishgar snapped the fabric out sideways.

 **Cloak Dragon's Shadow: Release!**

The air around Gildarts seemed to warp and ripple. As if from nowhere, thousands of imps popped into sight and advanced in a disorganized flood.

* * *

Warren felt a cold sweat developing on his brow as he watched the hostile blips on his Magic Radar multiply several times over.

"No, no, no!" He pleaded, clasping his hands to his head and digging fingers into his scalp. "We're not ready for this!"

He heard Gajeel's gruff voice in his mind.

"What's the big deal? Just a bunch of small fry."

One of the few downsides of telepathy magic was a lack of privacy.

"Who cares about the imps," Warren said. "Zeref's just reappeared with a ton of heavy reinforcements!"

A moment of blissful quiet allowed Warren time for the beginning of a freak out before the rest of the guild reacted at once; their voices echoed in his mind.

"Papa, is that the bad guy? Did he make the ground go boom?"

"I don't know, Asuka- stay with Levy, please."

"Warren, did you have to open the line to _every_ one?"

"Levy left, Papa."

"What?"

"Where's Romeo?"

"Right behind you, Dad."

"I couldn't stay there! She's with Wendy."

"And she'll be watched over by me."

"Charla"

"Where. Is. He?"

Warren felt a hand on his shoulder. Makarov's voice rose above the others.

"Everyone calm down. The more one of us distresses, the more it will affect all of us," he said. "Warren, you are the only one who can tell us what's happening and help us coordinate."

The telepathy mage took several steadying breaths. Some of the more confident guild members lent their support.

"Men do not panic!"

"This might work for the best," Erza said. "They've come to us; there's that much more energy we conserve not overthinking things."

"Warren," Natsu said, his voice low, rumbling and dangerous. "Where is he?"

"First," Mavis said. "Tell us what we're dealing with."

Warren sighed.

"Okay," he said. "There's God Serena in the town itself, and a load of imps near him moving toward the hall."

"Nothing to worry about." Gray said.

"There's at least one other hostile in town that's an actual threat; but they're blending in with the imps on radar," Warren continued. "The rest are approaching from outside. A huge cluster is coming from the southwest."

"All I see in that direction from here are storm clouds." Levy said.

"Those ain't clouds, Shrimp," Gajeel said. "That's the enemy."

Warren gulped, but pressed on before anyone got distracted.

"Zeref himself," he said. "Has a considerable force coming this way from the north. He's about a league from here."

Silence. Well, there were a couple growls from one or two slayers, but verbal communication ceased otherwise.

"All right," Mavis said. "Here's how we'll respond."

"I'm goin' after Zeref." Natsu said, interjecting before Fairy Tail's founder could speak further. A few voices rose to chide him, but Mavis quelled them; she kept on as though it were natural.

"Lucy, Gray and Erza will accompany him," she said. "They'll need a fifth."

"I can do my best to fill in for miss Marvell." Loke said.

Mavis hummed approval.

"We'll head out with the method we used to return from the mountains, Gray." Erza said. No one responded; the requip mage's tone left no room for discussion.

"Salamander!" Gajeel yelled. "You give Zeref a message! Real simple, just two words! F"

Warren's ears burned from the hot blood in the iron mage's voice. Mavis whispered.

"I hope you weren't relaying to Asuka just now," she said.

"Um."

Before the telepath could come up with a defense, Gajeel's voice barked again.

"Lily! Let's go!"

A few short moments later, Warren could feel the dragon slayer and his Exceed flying out of the range of his magic.

"They're rushing toward the southwest group." He said.

"Mira, would you and Elfman accompany him?" Mavis asked.

"Gladly," Mira chimed.

"MANLY!" Elfman shouted.

"Juvia, Cana, Levy," Mavis said. "You'll be in charge of finding the other threat in Magnolia. The rest of you that aren't part of the plan, keep the imps under control."

No one brought up any complaints.

"Oh, and Gildarts," Makarov said. "Property damage is fine."

Half a second later an eruption resounded in Magnolia; the foundation of the guildhall shuddered.

* * *

Erza ushered everyone into the carriage of the magic vehicle.

"You sure this is the fastest way?" Natsu asked. She grunted as she shut the door after Lucy.

"Yes," she said, turning around. She'd anticipated his hesitation. "You'll have to"

Titania stopped midsentence with her mouth slightly ajar. Natsu had climbed up front and strapped the SE-plug to his right arm.

"Then let's go." He said, staring Erza in the eye.

The redhead mage noticed the fine line between desperation and determination in Natsu's gaze. She realized she must have looked much the same during the Tower of Heaven incident; no regard for her own physical or mental state.

No wonder her friends had been so worried about her.

She recalled how insistent Natsu had been that she needed to cherish her own life; she pondered that as she stepped up to take the driver's seat.

"Natsu," she said. "I will be very disappointed in you if you turn out to be a hypocrite."

The wheels screeched against the pavement from a surge of magic power and the vehicle shot forward. Erza got the feeling the dragon slayer hadn't been listening; she thought about smacking him, but given his role in their departure, decided against it.

* * *

Bisca almost enjoyed herself while blowing tiny demons away with her guns magic. It brought on a nostalgic feeling.

She'd gotten separated from most of the other guild members, but the commotion told her that Alzack wasn't far from her.

Something moved toward her from within the waves of imps. A short, pale, black-haired man in fancy robes strode forward amid the horde. His red eyes seemed to look through the sharpshooter. Bisca felt her blood run cold.

"Warren," she said, trying to keep her arm steady and still her shivering hands. "I think I found the other one."

* * *

 **A/N:** I had a lot to put here, but as usual, I end up with electronic stage fright or some such.

Why did Erza act like a butler for second there instead of driving like the maniac we know her to be? Because it fits the scene.

Anyway! I'm very much more pleased with this chapter than I thought I would be and we're getting close to the renewed action that will be the showdown! (Maybe~)

Oh yeah, for those who don't know- which might have only been me until recently- a league is the distance of an hour's walking. I'm sure my readers knew that already though.

If you liked this chapter, leave a review! If not, tell me my character foibles in as neat and concise a manner as possible!

 **To The Reviewers:**

0FairyTail0: I'm flattered! Thank you very much for continuing to read and review! Here's hoping the story keeps up with your expectations! Enjoy the chapter and all that come after!

The Age of Awesomeness: Ah, life. The mortal enemy of free time. I understand. Thanks for your reading and reviewing loyalty! It empowers me! Have a chapter!


	15. Illusions

Disclaimer: In before two weeks since I last told you that I don't own Fairy Tail.

* * *

 **Illusions**

"Bisca, I don't see anything that stands out against the imps on radar. What did you find?"

The words buzzed in her head, but Bisca couldn't hear them. The barrel of her gun quivered. The man with pale skin walked closer with a calm expression; the crimson of his eyes and the overwhelming pressure of his magic power were anything but. Her chest pounded a dozen times for every pace he drew nearer.

"Bisca?"

The sharpshooter's instincts returned at the sound of Alzack's voice in her mind. She requipped her rifle in exchange for a shotgun and loaded it with her own magic.

The red eyes that had ignored her snapped into focus on her face; she froze. Her target walked right past her. She'd been blinded; only the impression of darkness from his magic registered in her vision.

The sound of gunfire brought her out of it. She pulled the trigger on reflex. Her stance had faltered during her lapse of concentration and the backlash hurt her shoulder and knocked her down.

"Bisca!"

She heard her husband talking to her; Alzack knelt next to her.

"He's here," she murmured. "Zeref's here."

* * *

Warren felt sweat forming on his brow. A hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"Bisca," Makarov said. "Are you certain?"

"Dark robes, pale complexion, red eyes," she replied in their minds. A beat. "Cowlick of black hair in the middle of his head."

"It's him."

Warren glared at his Magic Radar. Mavis didn't let him dwell on it.

"Quickly," she said. "Get everything ready!"

"Jet," Warren said with his magic as he ran up to the guild's second floor. "Did you get all that?"

"I'll be there in a few seconds!"

Warren's breathing grew harried, and not from the short sprint up the stairs. He burst into the infirmary and pulled Lisanna from Happy's cot. The young take over mage's face reflected the alarm pulsing through him. Without trading any words, she transformed.

Warren scooped her into his arms and pushed his telepathy to its limit; he removed the qualifications he'd set earlier. He reached into the minds of everyone within a four and a half mile radius, regardless of their allegiances. The sheer amount of feedback hit him like a sledgehammer. He grit his teeth.

Thousands of tiny, inarticulate voices whooped inside his head. He could almost feel the cocktail of emotions stirring inside each of his guild mates.

"Is there a fairy in my head?"

God Serena. Warren cut off that connection. He ran back downstairs, trying to find Zeref.

"Warren!"

The telepath stopped dead at the base of the staircase.

Zeref had already made it into the guildhall. He stared with cold eyes at Warren. He couldn't read anything of the immortal dark mage's thoughts.

He forgot how to breathe when that realization struck.

His magic was useless.

* * *

"Warren!"

Jet shouted the second he saw the telepath. The redhead speed mage saw Mavis' likeness in his arms. He also saw Zeref standing between him and Warren. Jet kicked his magic into high gear and kept running.

He sensed the dark wizard's power; if he paused for even a millisecond, he'd lose his nerve.

"Take Mavis' body and run!" Makarov yelled.

Jet kept his eyes focused on Lisanna.

After he'd closed half the distance between Zeref and Warren, Jet halted. He didn't stop running; his body just ceased to move. He remained suspended in between the moment of one foot leaving the ground and the other reestablishing contact.

The speedster couldn't figure out what had happened. His whole body had been locked somehow; he couldn't even turn his gaze in a different direction.

The one change he could see was Lisanna. Her coloring had gotten weird.

"You," Zeref said from behind him. Jet wanted to respond, but even his vocal chords were immobilized. "Drop the facade."

Jet understood the demand had been aimed at Lisanna. The take over mage didn't move or react. Jet began thinking of a way out when something small and solid penetrated his legs. It bore through the back of his knees and through the joints.

Yet he couldn't scream.

* * *

Lisanna, peeking through the space between her eyelashes, saw the thin, spiked tendrils of Zeref's black magic cripple Jet. The speed mage's color was still inverted and he still hovered.

Her eyes shot open and she rolled out of Warren's arms to the floor. She released her transformation and lunged.

 **Animal Soul: Harpy!**

The youngest Strauss sibling shifted in midair, intent on raking the dark mage's face with her claws. Zeref blinked once.

Jet's color returned to normal and he touched down on the floor. He screamed. His body, moving with the momentum of his magic, barreled into Lisanna and sent them crashing into the Magic Radar. The device shattered once they hit the ground.

"Did you really believe you could fool me with an imposter?" Zeref asked.

Lisanna found herself greeted by the immortal wizard's hand once she separated from Jet. Darkness filled her vision as Zeref called on his black magic.

"Stop!"

* * *

Makarov set his feet apart, barking at Zeref with balled fists. The old wizard saint kept his gaze steady as Zeref turned his neck to make eye contact. Makarov saw Porlyusica descending the stairs from the second floor; to his mild relief, Zeref either didn't notice or didn't care.

"If you swear to leave my guild alone," Makarov said, taking a breath. "I'll take you to Lumen Histoire."

"Master, don't!" Lisanna said.

Jet hissed a similar sentiment through clenched teeth.

"Quiet," Makarov said, his voice low and hard. "I've had enough."

Zeref's black magic dissipated and he stepped away from Lisanna.

"Fine."

Makarov gulped. Porlyusica, assessing Jet's injuries, scoffed.

"This is why I hate humans."

Zeref paused; Makarov stiffened.

"I shouldn't be surprised to find another misanthrope among Fairy Tail," he said, turning to look over his shoulder. "You are, after all, only human."

Porlyusica shot upright with unusual speed for her age and hurled one of her medical instruments at Zeref.

Makarov's giant hand stretched out to catch the projectile. He sighed. The pink-haired wizard huffed and hoisted up Jet. Makarov began leading Zeref toward the entrance to the basement.

"It'll be all right." He whispered, quiet so only Warren and the others would hear via telepathy. When he heard no reply, the small giant took one backward glance; understanding and a swirl of other emotions came to him.

Warren sat with his knees to his chest on the floor near the foot of the staircase. The telepath had turned off his magic.

"And for them you'd surrender the world."

Makarov pinched the inside of his cheek with his teeth and swallowed his pride. He brought Zeref down a long flight of stone stairs. He stopped once to ignite a torch when the light above no longer reached them.

The tense silence coupled with the pressure of Zeref's magic looming behind him provoked a dull inflammation in his chest. Makarov couldn't even hear Zeref's footsteps, though they kept a short distance between them.

After a brief eternity, Makarov turned left and descended another short set of wooden steps. A hallway stretched out in front of them at the bottom. A faint light illuminated the tunnel.

At last, the hall opened out into a spacious chamber. Makarov extinguished his torch and lowered his head. Mavis' form, covered by long, pale blond hair, hovered amidst a huge array of crystal. Makarov stepped to one side and watched Zeref approach the center of the room with a hungry expression.

* * *

Juvia summoned a fierce tide that flooded the street she stood on; imps were sent flying and submerged with bubbling cries by the dozens. The water mage kept her eyes focused on her surroundings, searching for-

A head of raven hair poked out from around a corner. The flow of Juvia's magic waned and her waves calmed. Her heartbeat stuttered; water lapped, harmless, against the feet of her favorite ice wizard.

"Gray-sama."

* * *

 **A/N:** Till next time~!

... Is kind of what I want to say, but there's one item of business (pft!) to announce. I've put up a poll regarding Mutual Burns on my profile. I won't say on what specifically, but depending on the results it might alter the course of things. Emphasis on _might_.

As per usual, if you enjoyed reading this chapter, leave behind a review! If you didn't, just type something so I get that little bit of eagerness to see a notification email for this story!

 **Speaking of Reviews:**

The Age of Awesomeness: I updated sooner than I have been! Here's a chapter for you! I'll trade you for that platter! Enjoy~

0FairyTail0: I'm so glad to hear it! Have another update! I'll bring more soon!


	16. Stoked Tempers

Disclaimer: I've posted on both sides of one, two and three weeks now. All that variation and I can't claim a thing about Fairy Tail belongs to me.

* * *

 **Stoked Tempers**

Makarov's pulse pounded. The seconds it took for Zeref to close the distance between him and Mavis' form stretched into agonizing eternity. The ceiling of the chamber trembled and the floor shook; doubtless due to the fierce battles being waged in Magnolia on the surface. Makarov took slow, measured breaths, opening and closing his hands into fists.

Even with all his years of practice, the wizard saint found patience trying in this instance.

He glanced left, toward the darkest corner of the chamber; a small hole stood out with the flicker of a faint light from another room.

Zeref's pale hand rose toward the crystal surrounding Mavis. Makarov took the opportunity to speak.

"If it came down to such dire stakes, I might well trade the world to you for the sake of my brats."

Zeref's head turned. Makarov called upon his light magic; he needed to present something of a threat. The pressure from his magic caused the stone floor to crack and split beneath him in a wide circle.

"But not today," Makarov said, the volume of his voice escalating as Zeref turned his body to face him. "You'll get nothing from me today!"

Zeref's black magic, billowing out from beneath his cloak, sprung the trap.

The crystal, born of Gray's devil slaying ice, reacted to the dark magic power Zeref exuded; Mavis' likeness, an illusion created by Juvia's water, responded to Gray's magic.

In one, fluid motion both snapped toward Zeref. Juvia's water latched onto the dark mage's hand and spread over his cloak and face. Gray's tinted ice froze the water over and expanded once it covered him.

The black-haired immortal had been encased before he could blink; Zeref never took his crimson eyes off Makarov. The old wizard saint shouted.

"NOW!"

His voice echoed into a hidden room behind the room's left wall. Mest blinked into sight with his magic and placed a hand on the ice. The teleportation wizard made eye contact with Makarov long enough for a partial breath. He vanished along with the trap.

The ruse had been flawless. The tunnel Gajeel and Lucy dug out, the wooden stairway that Laki built to add to the effect, the fake wall that blocked passage to the chamber with Mavis' real body; everything should have paid off, even it had only been a tactic to buy time.

"Once might have been justified by trying new methods," Zeref said. "But two fakes is disappointing, Fairy Tail. It seems you still have to make a choice."

Makarov balked. The power of his light magic wavered for a moment. In the time it took for Makarov to signal to Mest, the dark mage had walked out of his icy prison. Mest couldn't have stopped his teleportation; in fact, Makarov drew comfort from the idea that he would be alone against Zeref.

"I don't like repeating myself." Makarov said through clenched teeth. The inflammation in his chest flared again. He called on his magic and doubled in size several times.

The old wizard saint made himself a wall between Zeref and the chamber's exit. Even in his giant form, Makarov felt as though he were the one being looked down upon; he kept his expression even.

"Fairy Tail really isn't any different from the rest of the world." Zeref said as though speaking to himself. Makarov's huge form felt heavier with each passing second. "Humans are the epitome of hypocrisy. They swear by the strength of their word, only to act in opposition to them. Yet when others behave the same way, they respond with reprimands and outrage."

Makarov's knees buckled; he realized Zeref had already cast an attack.

 **Rain of Light!**

Makarov summoned a magic circle that shot out dozens of beams of light magic toward Zeref. The immortal wizard raised his hand with his palm outward.

"Humans base their truths on falsehoods; everything the world does in each era contradicts itself and all eras previous. Truth ought to be absolute. But, nothing is absolute."

A sheet of darkness materialized between Zeref and Makarov's magic. The shifting black void swallowed the rays of light. Makarov's giant limbs sagged further under Zeref's magic. He fell to one knee, his chest burning.

Zeref let the dark magic fade. He stared at his outstretched hand as though it were the source of an epiphany.

"Nothing is absolute," he repeated. His magic power exuded greater pressure, even without apparent conscious effort. "Death rejects nothing, and death rejects me."

Zeref's eyes moved from his hand, but his gaze remained blank.

"I am nothing."

Makarov shuddered.

"I am absolute."

Zeref brought his eyes back to Makarov. He muttered; that was all the warning the eldest Dreyar received.

 **Three Pillar Gods!**

Makarov called upon his strongest defensive spell. A simple, undulating wave of dark magic blasted through his protection and struck his giant form. The old wizard saint crashed through the stone ceiling and walls of the smaller tunnel behind him. The wood staircase splintered and broke to pieces against his back until he stopped.

Sapped of his strength, Makarov shrank and fell back. Debris and remnants of Laki's wood collapsed over top of him. He felt warmth pooling underneath his shoulders.

"You're weaker than you seem." Zeref said. Makarov shifted and pulled his face from under the rubble. "By rights I should punish you for lying to me."

"You're talking in circles," Makarov said, though his words came out as a rasping murmur. Zeref might not have heard him.

"Crushing Fairy Tail is my only aim for now, even before I reciprocate the world's rejection of me."

Makarov's chest felt like a hole could burn through it at any moment. His vision blurred at irregular intervals.

"Hope is one common aspect of all eras; nothing has no hope." Zeref said. Black magic swirled out from his fingertips. "In order to become truly absolute, I must have no hope. Yet Fairy Tail alone clings to that label."

Makarov's mind swam. The wizard saint drew in ragged breaths and struggled to follow Zeref's speech.

"Still, killing you would be too merciful." Zeref said. His magic receded beneath his cloak. "I'll force you to live and see the rest of your guild perish."

Makarov inhaled a sharp breath and winced. Zeref's body flickered like static before disappearing from sight. Makarov fell back again and clutched his chest.

Fairy Tail's third master felt his eyelids drooping. Just as they were about to fall, an unsteady voice spoke in his head.

"Master," Warren said. The telepath's unease emanated from his tone. "Are you okay?"

Makarov coughed, turning his head to prevent catching loose splinters and dust in his mouth.

"Zeref," he said. "Zeref is"

"Got it. At least we have some more time now." Warren said.

Makarov sputtered; he realized Warren must have read his mind.

"Are you"

"I got over the shock," Warren said, an edge to his voice. "Now I'm just pissed about it."

Makarov heard footsteps echo in the tunnel above him.

"It'll be all right, Master."

The old wizard saint's mind went blank in surprise. He let out a weak chuckle.

"If my brats are reassuring me with my own words," he said. "I really have lived too long."

* * *

Gajeel swept his eyes over the grey mass below him. From his position overhead via Lily, the enemy did sort of look like a storm cloud; the sound of thousands of beating wings betrayed the illusion. That, plus their skin tone and ugly faces, marked the creatures as gargoyles.

"Dive." Gajeel said.

Lily folded his wings and plunged. The huge cluster zoomed up toward them until it filled the dragon slayer's field of vision; part of that was due to the distraction of a couple dozen breaking off and ascending toward them.

"Takin' us lightly, aren't ya?" Gajeel said. He snarled.

"Drop me," he said. "Do what you want after that."

Lily hesitated. Gajeel growled. The Exceed sighed before complying and changing into his battle form. The iron mage waited until the nearest gargoyle took a swing at him.

Gajeel caught the creature's wrist with one hand and clamped the other over its eyes.

"Yo."

The pierced wizard shifted in midair, keeping his would-be assailant blind and pinning its arm behind its back. He steered it around to plow through the others that had come with.

"Lemme meet yer friends, freak."

Gajeel scowled while forcing his ride to nosedive into the massive cluster. He paid no mind to the gargoyle's cries of protest. He only snapped its arm and hurled it aside after he'd broken into the moving cloud.

Before the iron dragon slayer could grab a new victim, he landed on something; he hadn't fallen through the whole crowd. He could hear the sounds of wings slicing through air all around him. The black-haired mage felt his platform moving, yet his stomach didn't file any complaints. His foothold was alive.

There were so many gargoyles above him that he'd been cut off from almost any natural light.

It took two seconds for his keen eyes to adjust; within half of the first second, he heard something skittering toward him. The footfalls stopped a short distance away, but made the mistake of announcing itself by gnashing its teeth.

 **Iron Dragon's Club!**

Gajeel lifted his transformed arm overhead like an offering. The pierced mage heard the whimper of something with normal fangs biting into metal. His other hand snapped up and caught the creature by its throat before it could retreat.

"Numbers," he said, tightening his grip. "Size." He lifted it over his head and slammed it onto its back. "Ain't gonna save you!"

The dragon slayer could see several large spider-like legs flailing in the air. He smashed an iron fist into the creature's gut until it stopped moving.

The message he'd deciphered, the one Zeref sent via Salamander, still grated his nerves.

 _I can kill any of you, whenever, and however, I wish._

"Don't try feedin' me loads of bull!" Gajeel shouted.

The iron mage craned his neck up.

 **Iron Dragon's Roar!**

A furious maelstrom of iron shrapnel blasted into the ceiling of gargoyles. At least a hundred fell from their formation. The sky showed through the new gap.

 **Iron Dragon's Scales!**

The flash of Gajeel's magic cast ominous shadows on the gargoyles that had been rendered flightless. The dragon slayer set his feet apart on his foothold, ignoring the pain in the ankle Poser twisted. Some of the gargoyles above had a new interest in Gajeel.

The black-haired wizard made use of an obscene gesture as provocation.

"COME ON!" He bellowed.

* * *

 **A/N:** I got little to say. Except now I think I've had enough of the build up and the set up! Truth be told readers, it's gotten slow for my taste, so we'll delve into the action!

I may have put too much set up for different fight scenes in at one time; I'm sure I'll think of something good for you, dear readers!

I have no excuses for the almost full month of non-update. I promise, barring any _extremely_ unforeseen circumstances, ye shall have the next one before the end of the week! (Given the monologue Zeref just made, though, that probably sounds weak.)

If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a review! If not, tell me how to survive in a house with two dogs and a fat bunny!

 **Review Response Corner:**

0FairyTail0: Wonder no longer! At least not for this chapter! Have a much overdue update! Thank you for continuing to read and review!

DaughterofDeath: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I wouldn't dream of giving it up! Hope you enjoy the new chapter!

The Age of Awesomeness: I shall accept these gifts humbly... and then, over the course of an overlong wait for updates, clumsily drop them. Thankfully they are unharmed. Thanks for the continued support via reading and reviewing! I'll do my best to earn the cookies!

Saira-Blue: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I'm thrilled that you enjoy the story so much! You've given me quite high praise and I thank you for it! I'll give you as much more awesome as my man-child mind can conjure! This update didn't come very soon, but I will work to bring you more!


	17. Hot Temptation

Disclaimer: I own as much of Fairy Tail as I do my own private jet. Which is to say none at all.

* * *

 **Hot Temptation**

He felt his body heat up when he saw the rain woman. She looked just as delicious as he'd heard. He let his raven bangs hood his face.

He swaggered toward her, grin widening at the shy face she made; he poured out more of his special curse power. She gasped and he bit his lips to stifle a moan of desire.

"Juvia thought- Juvia didn't know"

He tilted his head a little; he'd have to fix the third-person speech issue. He felt sweat on his palms and he ran a hand down her backside. He breathed against her skin and whispered.

"I need you."

He pressed his mouth against the pale skin of her neck and scraped it with his teeth.

He had a feeling he'd enjoy using her magic.

* * *

Cana swatted another handful of imps aside. She glanced back up the street she'd finished clearing; Warren stood in plain sight on the guildhall's roof. The arrangement had been as close to a substitute for his Magic Radar as the telepath could manage.

The card mage considered finding a higher perch in hopes of locating her target; footsteps from an alley behind her demanded her attention.

The brunette mage found Gray, or at least someone almost identical in appearance, giving her an awkward grin. She wrinkled her nose and took a step backward; he stank like nothing she'd encountered.

"Didn't you go with Erza?" She asked.

The grin on his face dropped and he leered at her.

"You're immune. No fair~," he said. In the next instant, Cana found herself on the ground, her wrists held over her head, and one of her assailant's legs on either side of her hips.

"We'll do things this way then," he said. "Hey there, I'm Ink. And you are downright sinfully hot."

In a different scenario, Cana would have laughed till her sides hurt at such a line.

"Now that we've met," Ink said, licking his lips. "Let's get to know each other."

The creep dropped his face down, mouth open, aimed for Cana's neck.

The card mage introduced his groin to her knee. His face contorted in pain and his grip loosened. Cana shoved him up by his face and shot to her feet. She jammed her elbow into his throat. She stepped back and swung her leg up toward his face.

"Well, if you're going to be a bitch about it."

Cana's foot stuck in his face; Ink's head had taken on the appearance of water, locking her foot. His form melted and she suppressed the urge to gag as he slid down her outstretched thigh. He reformed behind her, one hand behind her head.

"I can learn to like feisty," he said into her ear, shoving her face into a lamppost. "Just don't struggle too much. I really want you in my harem."

Cana ignored the pain in her forehead and pulled out her cards, whirling around.

 **Summoned Lightning!**

A magic circle lit up the cobblestone. Ink jumped back as bolts of electric current shot toward him from the ground. Cana huffed.

"Can't have a harem with a total of zero women," she said. Ink laughed, using the flexibility of his partial water form to avoid her magic.

"I've already got one of yours helping me scout out talent," he said, crooked grin grating on Cana's nerves. "I can't wait to find out what new conquests she'll have for me."

Cana glowered, her cards splayed out in both hands. She threw down a combination of three.

 **Icicle!**

Spears of ice flew toward Ink. The raven-haired freak sighed, turning his body into water again. Cana activated the cards she'd attached to the icicles.

 **Explosion!**

In a fierce eruption of fire, each of the icicles shattered midair and exploded, the shockwave rattling Ink. Cana murmured, quiet to avoid alerting her opponent.

"Warren," she said. "Where's Juvia?"

A moment later, the telepath answered.

"Um, right now, it looks like she's fighting Levy."

Cana sidestepped a shot of water that came barreling toward her.

"Can you talk to her?" She asked, training her glare on Ink. He lifted his hands in a lazy motion, feigning an attempt at placation.

"Don't mar your pretty face with a scary expression like that," he said, shrugging. "Can't hate me for doing what I do; I'm an incubus, babe. I was made this way."

Ink drawled on the last sentence. Before either of them could make another move, a column of water broke into the skyline, a short distance away.

"Uh, doesn't seem like it." Warren said.

Ink groaned and shuddered, running a shaking hand over the waist of his pants.

"Gods," he said. "I love a girl that obeys."

Cana grimaced and set her teeth.

"Warren," she hissed. "I have a message for Levy."

* * *

 **Solid Script: Guard!**

Levy managed to throw up a barrier between her and Juvia's water magic before being swept away. The flood of water broke through it a moment later, but the script mage had enough time to take a gulp of air before she submerged beneath the tide.

The blue-haired wizard let her body go limp; she resisted the current just enough to avoid serious injury. She looked up through the water's surface.

 **Solid Script: Chain!**

The word chain materialized in front of her and the 'c' hooked around a windowsill of an apartment building. Levy pulled herself up, gasping once she broke the surface. The extra drag on the windowsill caused a crack in the frame.

 **Solid Script: Helium!**

The word, comprised of the element she named, appeared under her and rose up out of the current. Levy jumped down from her new platform onto the nearest roof.

Before the script mage could regain her feet, Juvia appeared on the neighboring roof, lashing at her with a whip of water. Levy rolled out of harm's way while the water mage advanced.

"I must do as my master bids," Juvia said in a monotone, both of her hands transformed into a water whip. "Gray doesn't have any interest in flat che"

"Yes! You mentioned that already," Levy said, yelling in between dodging the barrage Juvia threw at her. The letter wizard ducked and wove, catching more than a few cuts on her arms and face; she contented herself with retaining an attachment to her limbs.

Levy lost ground on the roof as Juvia pressed forward, nearing the edge of the building. Jumping back into a low pouncing stance, the blue-haired mage dove toward Juvia, writing as she skirted under the onslaught.

 **Solid Script: Oxygen!**

A text form of the volatile element went flying toward Juvia.

 **Solid Script: Fire!**

Before the first word made it more than halfway between them, flames shot forward and collided with it. The resulting explosion rocked the building; Levy covered her head with her arms. Juvia, despite her liquid state, flew backward and down to the street.

The roof of the building tilted as the foundations shook; Levy rolled with gravity and bent her knees before landing and running out of the path of the collapsing structure. She ducked into the nearest shop and vaulted over a counter. She slid down to the floor.

"Hey, Levy," Warren said in her head. The script mage tore her charred jacket off and replied with a hushed yell.

"Kind of busy!"

"Sorry," Warren said. "Cana had a message for you; she found the other demon. Said he's an incubus."

Levy held the remnants of her jacket out beside her as she processed the new information. Her mind raced to think of how she could use it.

"Thanks."

She poked her head up and peered from behind the counter out the window. She checked for suspicious pools of water in the street that she could see. A strategy formed in her mind, and she felt grateful that she'd hid inside a weapons shop. She wrapped her jacket around one arm and picked out a specific tool.

Moments later, Levy ran outside; one hand held a copper blade, the other glowing with concentrated magic, poised to write.

Within an instant, a cannon shot of water came careening toward her. She rolled out of the way; she almost got her foot blown off by a solid column of water that erupted from one of the puddles in the street.

The script mage spotted Juvia on the opposite side of the road.

 **Solid Script: Darkness!**

At her command, the text Levy wrote in the air surrounded Juvia, blinding the water mage to her surroundings for a moment. The former elemental soon broke through the spell, but in those seconds Levy sprinted across the distance between them and wrote another spell, directing it toward the copper blade.

 **Solid Script: Thunder!**

The tip of the weapon reached the water mage's neck. The dagger itself didn't affect her liquid body; the lightning from Levy's magic that it conducted did.

"Sorry." Levy said, even as her guild mate cried out from the electric current that zapped her body. Levy skid on the cobblestone, scraping her knees before she turned around. Juvia swayed on her feet, one arm outstretched and waving for balance.

She blinked several times before she focused on Levy.

"Levy-san," she said, her other hand pressed to her forehead. The script mage let out a heavy sigh, plopping onto the ground. "Juvia is- Juvia was"

Realization, followed by guilt, played across the water mage's features. Levy waved her hand in front of her face, mustering up a wan smile.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "You were under the influence of pheromone magic; it's potent to the point of illegality. It's the incubus' fault, not yours."

Juvia's eyes still regarded the script mage with concern, though she tilted her head.

"Incubus?" She said. Her expression darkened a moment later and she lowered her head. "Juvia sees now."

Before Levy could say anything else, Juvia turned from her.

"Juvia begs Levy-san's pardon."

In the blink of an eye, the water mage vanished from sight, though Levy caught a pool of water moving at an alarming speed up the wall of the shop she'd just been inside. The solid script wizard asked Warren to warn Cana, though a small smile spread onto her face.

* * *

Juvia scowled once she found her prey, reverting to her natural shape.

Gray's impostor seemed to sense her presence; he had the nerve to shout at her.

"Bitch! What's with cutting me off? Where's my portion of your magic power?"

He pointed an accusatory finger at her; Juvia's body temperature spiked to dangerous levels.

"And who told you to show your face empty"

 **Sierra!**

Juvia smashed into fake Gray's stomach as a powerful blast of boiling water. She reformed in the next instant while he stumbled and clutched his torso.

 **Water Slicer!**

She slashed at him from every angle with blades of her magic. Cuts formed on his arms, legs and chest. He sputtered and coughed.

"Babe- babe, what"

Juvia ignored him.

 **Water Nebula!**

Twin columns of water shot forward in a helix formation and crashed into the imposter's body, launching him into the canal. Juvia used her magic to raise the canal's water up into the air, manipulating it into a monstrous, spinning force.

 **Water Cyclone!**

Juvia's magic pounded the faux devil slayer into the concrete of the canal with the power of a super concentrated tsunami.

Minutes later, the faker lay as an unrecognizable, motionless mess at the bottom of the modest hole Juvia's attack left behind. The water mage's temper soothed somewhat, and she let out a long, slow sigh.

"Juvia hopes Gray-sama forgives her mistake."

* * *

 **A/N:** To quote one of my favorite graphic novel series, "Women are not a game." Ink can be described as my 'tribute' to sleazebags the world over. Yes the title is somewhat sarcastic.

Well, I didn't technically fulfill the promise I made to my dear readers, but that's only because I care too much and refused to post something that I found less than satisfactory. I cut much more out of this one between the *cough* first and second draft, and I think the flow of the story will thank me for that.

You all know the drill by now! If you're new to 'the drill', OUCH! Also, if you enjoyed reading this, leave a review! If you didn't, indulge this man-child and bring him a little joy by leaving behind a typed something in that box at the bottom right!

 **I'm Happier Than I Should be Because of these Reviews:**

The Age of Awesomeness: I didn't drop it this time! I have more respect for food than that! Have an update as both you and the cake requested! Hope you enjoy it! ... Lowkey, send me those cookies after this review response. At the _drop point_.

rosami: I find it difficult to imagine a scenario wherein I might fangirl over Zeref. (Won't stop me from trying.) HO YES, THIS GUY GOT THE DEPRESSED IMMORTAL CHARACTER DOWN LIKE BAM! ... I don't know if I should feel as happy about that as I am or not. Thank you for reading and reviewing! I won't give it up, nothing to worry about on that front!

Divinion: Does Natsu ever want to enact a plan that isn't Plan T? Oh, you flatter me with all your praise and such! I'm all a-twitter about it! I won't pretend it doesn't make me happy! Faves in anime is always a complicated question for me, since I'm the sort that just loves characters. As for your point about the others in Team Natsu... it does count for something, but thanks for the slight prompt, now I have more ideas for the later chapters! I'm so glad you enjoy it as much as you do! Have an update! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Saira-Blue: Oh, fantastic! I'm always happier with every email I get telling me I got another review for this story, so if I can give any of that back to my readers, all the better! Thank you for reading and reviewing and your praise! Hope you enjoy this update and I'll bring more when I get it!

0FairyTail0: Apologies for the delay! Glad as ever that it was to your liking! Have another dose of update! Thanks for continued reading and reviewing support!


	18. Forgeries

Disclaimer: The scenarios seen in the following chapter do not necessarily reflect the ideas of anybody cool like Hiro Mashima. The characters do. The scenes themselves reflect the ideas of an okay man-child.

* * *

 **Forgeries**

Lily huffed. A few minutes of combat against the gargoyles proved more taxing anticipated.

The black Exceed slashed with his Musica Sword; his target dove and circled behind him. He danced in the air with his blade, each new opponent forcing swifter motions and more accurate strokes.

Lily didn't ever get enough of a break between attacks to think; the demons had started out with frontal assaults, reckless and full of weaknesses that he could exploit with his swordsmanship. For every enemy that he struck down, it seemed the others gained more agility and required more aggressive pursuit.

As Lily rotated his wrist and chopped downward, one of them caught him from his blind spot and dug into his ribcage.

The Exceed snatched the wrist of his attacker with one hand, delivered a sharp knee to the face, and bent its arm backward before cutting it down.

Lily gave another huff; he didn't want to consider how much magic he'd already consumed.

* * *

Gajeel growled. The dragon slayer had given up on finesse in favor of getting results; taking the blows that managed to get past his offensive wore on him. Though he wouldn't admit to being intimidated by sheer numbers, the punches he received felt heavier as he took down more gargoyles. The demons had gotten better at keeping their feet after he hit them, too.

 **Iron Dragon's Club!**

Gajeel swept the gargoyles crowding him aside. Even that felt more like a chore than it should have. The pierced wizard redirected his transformed arm upward toward another cluster; with his foot injured, he had to draw their attention to him.

Clang.

The sound of metal striking metal rang in his hypersensitive ears. The iron mage lost his concentration for a split-second; one gargoyle wove around the iron pole and swiped at him with its claws.

A faint, grating screech followed and he cringed.

Gajeel slammed his iron fist into the gargoyle's stomach before changing that arm into a spearhead.

 **Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs!**

Gajeel blew the demon apart with a rapid succession of iron magic that shot out from his arm. Before he could make another move, something struck the back of his head from behind.

The iron dragon slayer swiveled as he caught himself from skidding backward; he glimpsed several hundred creatures, each with an arm transformed into an iron rod, flying low toward him.

"Oh, bullshi"

Another pole smacked the pierced wizard across the face; even with his iron scales, the attack stung. Gajeel growled and bent his knees, crouching with his arms over his face. The blunt metal that banged against him tested his scales from all sides. He could feel bruises forming from the repeated impacts.

The black-haired mage caught the next iron rod. Grunting, he heaved the gargoyle attached to the other end around him in an arc, scattering the horde.

 **Iron Dragon's Sword!**

Gajeel's arm changed into a spiked iron blade with teeth that spun around the edge like a saw; he quashed the protest from his injury and charged, slashing with his sword to break them down.

The gargoyles, true to their demonic heritage, refused to stay down if Gajeel hit them with anything less than fatal. He grit his teeth and began to circle around again; a blade, matching his own, greeted his face. His neck snapped back to one side. Against his will, his scales receded.

Gajeel clamped down on the sword with his teeth before his assailant could pull it back. Despite its iron properties, the pierced mage couldn't eat it. Undaunted, he snarled, sparks flying from his teeth skidding against the blade before he rammed his forehead into the gargoyle's face. The creature teetered back, and Gajeel tackled it down onto its back.

"Quit screwin' around!" he shouted.

He pounded his fists down against the gargoyle's skull; blood dirtied his knuckles without the protection of his magic, but the dragon slayer had too much aggravation burning in his veins to care. Gajeel didn't stop until the demon's head had caved. He shot to his feet and flung the gargoyle aside.

The rest of the crowd stood in a wide circle, each with both hands balled into clawed fists. They raised their hands to their mouths, and, in unison, expelled a raging whirlwind of shrapnel that converged toward him. Gajeel bent his knees, ready to jump; his leg trembled and almost gave out under him.

"Dish out whatever ya want," he hissed. He straightened his legs, concentrating on what remained of his magic power. "I'll take anything you've got and demolish all a' you anyway!"

 **Iron Shadow Dragon Mode!**

The gargoyle's synchronized roars struck in an explosive blast just as the dragon slayer called upon his iron skin. Dark shadows flew from his body in streams. In spite of the exhaustion he felt, he doled out a menacing glower.

"I am Kurogane Gajeel Redfox of Fairy Tail! You ain't gonna touch my guild!"

 **Dragon Slayer's Secret Arts!**

The iron mage summoned a massive magic circle beneath him that stretched out under the entirety of the horde around him. Light shot up from the gargoyles' shadows.

 **Karma Demon: Iron Shadow's Betrayal!**

Intense, concentrated magic power erupted out from each gargoyle's shadow and consumed them.

Gajeel heaved out a long breath.

The dragon slayer's body trembled; his bloodied hands felt numb, and his limbs heavy. He glared, even with his intermittent blurring vision, at the mass of gargoyles that remained flying over him. The winged demons didn't come after him and he couldn't summon the strength to bring them down.

Gajeel swore. Something shifted in the air. The bodies around him disintegrated and, moments later, the gargoyles overhead gained the same dark markings of a shadow dragon slayer and the sheen of Gajeel's iron skin. The magic power he sensed spiked at the same time.

"Warren," Gajeel rasped, shifting his weight as if to move even as he sank to his knees. The iron mage dragged his body across his living foothold, a little closer to Magnolia; if he could break into the telepath's range, he could warn them.

Once Gajeel crawled into the darkness made by the gargoyles left, he heard a familiar skittering rushing toward him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Gajeel is one of my favorites. This chapter? Maybe not so much.

Short? I'll admit it. But as a consequence of not doing what I originally intended, I'm more excited for the next chapter than I would be otherwise.

Apologies for the long delay between updates. My brain and the start of life being real again were not cooperating.

If you enjoyed this chapter, great! Leave a review please and let me know what you think!

 **Prior Reviews:**

Saira-Blue: That's great! I think at one point I had a more serious bend for that one, but something in my body rejected it and that was the result. Gray as an open perv is kinda funny. So glad I can be of service! I hope you can also enjoy this chapter, brief though it may be! There will be a few more serious notes struck, but that's all I can say! Thank you for reading and reviewing!

0FairyTail0: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I'm so glad you liked it! Here's another! More soon, I promise!

The Age of Awesomeness: Ah, cookies! My thanks for the treats and your readership and review... ership. Have a (brief) update! I'll give more as soon as I can!


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